London — A UK-based activist, Ms Alice Ukoko has called on the Nigerian government to learn from last week's Court ruling at the Hague which found Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) responsible for the pollution of farmlands in the Niger Delta to "correct its weaknesses and errors of the past" for failing to regulate activities and operations of oil giants in the country.

In a statement issued in London at the weekend, Ms Ukoko, who is the founder and director of Women in Africa (WOA) said the government should "deliver on its constitutional obligations to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air and land, forest and wild life of Nigeria" as enshrined in section 20 of the Nigerian Constitution.

"The judgement represents a major breakthrough for the people of the region who have borne the weight of negative oil exploring by Multinational companies in the region in over fifty years", the statement said.

"Although this judgement is primarily addressed to four farmers in the region, its implication covers the region and beyond", she said, adding that the Dutch Court Ruling "can be applied to most aspects of the Company's operations in the region".