poverty and deprivation, fuelled conflict and led to a pervasive sense of powerlessness and frustration. 14. It further contended that the devastating activities of the oil industries in the Niger Delta continue to damage the health and livelihoods of the people of the area who are denied basic necessities of life such as adequate access to clean water, education, healthcare, food and a clean and healthy environment. 15. The Plaintiff submitted that although Nigerian government regulations require the swift and effective clean-up of oil spills this is never done timorously and is always inadequate and that the lack of effective clean-up greatly exacerbates the human rights and environmental impacts of such spills. 16. It admitted that though some companies have engaged in development projects to help communities construct water and sanitation facilities and some individuals and families received payments these were inadequate. 17. It submitted that government’s obligation to protect the right to health requires it to investigate and monitor the possible health impacts of gas flaring and the failure of the government to take the concerns seriously and take steps to ensure independent of the communities investigation into the health impacts of gas flaring and ensure that the community has reliable information, is a breach of international standards. 18. It averred specifically that: — In 1995 SPDC Petroleum, admitted that its infrastructure needed work and that the corrosion was responsible for 50 per cent of oil spills. — On 28 August 2008, a fault in the Trans-Niger pipeline resulted in a significant oil spill into Bodo Creek in Ogoniland. The oil poured into the swamp and creek for weeks, covering the area in a thick slick of oil and killing the fish that people depend on for food and for livelihood. The oil spill has resulted in death or damage to a number of species of fish that provide the protein needs in the local community. Video footage of the 4|Page