LAGOS — Nigeria's Bodo community in the oil-rich Niger Delta has rejected a compensation offer from Shell for two oil spills in 2008 that devastated the mangrove and fishing area, lawyers and the company said Friday. “It is a great shame that the negotiations have not led to a settlement. I had hoped that this week would at last see the end of the litigation and enable us to start the process of rebuilding the community,” said Chief Kogbara, chairman of the Bodo Council. Shell has acknowledged liability for the spills five years ago, but it disputes the amount spilled and the impact on the community. The Bodo community's law firm, Leigh Day, said that 13,000 fishermen lost their livelihoods because of the spills, and 31,000 inhabitants of 35 villages were affected in and around the Bodo lagoon and its associated waterways. But a spokesman for the Shell Petroleum and Development Company of Nigeria Ltd., Jonathan French, said the number of fisherman impacted is likely lower, given the size of the area. Shell offered about $50 million to the community, according to a person close to the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't permitted to speak to the media. “Our clients know how much their claims are worth and will not be bought off cheaply,” said Martyn Day, senior partner at Leigh Day. — AP
