Oil-rich Niger Delta still ‘land of misery’: Goldman Prize winner

Four Nigerian farmers (L to R) Farmers Friday Alfred Akpan-Ikot Ada Udo and Eric Dooh, Nini Okey Uche of the Nigerian Embassy, lawyer Prince Chima Williams end farmers Chief Fidelis A. Oguru-Oruma and Alali Efanga pose at the law courts in The Hague on October 11, 2012. Four Nigerian farmers take on Shell in a Dutch court on Thursday, accusing the oil giant of destroying their livelihoods in a case that could set a precedent for global environmental responsibility. The civil suit, backed by lobby group Friends of the Earth, alleges that oil spills dating back to 2005 by the Anglo-Dutch company made fishing and farming in the plaintiffs' Niger Delta villages impossible. AFP PHOTO / ANP / ROBIN UTRECHT netherlands out (Photo by ROBIN UTRECHT / ANP / AFP)

Nigerian environmental lawyer Chima Williams has been named the Africa recipient of the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize, known as the “Green Nobel Prize for grassroots advocacy to protect the environment.

The top environment prize, annually awarded to six grassroots activists – one from each of the world’s continents save for Antarctica – was announced on Wednesday.