Compensation Issues in the Niger-Delta – A Case Study Of Boboroku, Jesse, Delta State, Nigeria (Published)
It is common to find oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region acquiring expansive farmlands to facilitate their operations in the area while the natives of affected communities are generally left in precarious conditions arising from acquisition of their farm lands. The paper examines issues of compulsory acquisition, evaluating the quantum of compensation paid to natives of communities whose farmlands are acquired and issues that must be dealt with to provide adequate compensation to claimants. Using an oil well acquisition base in Boboroku, Jesse in Ethiope-West Local Government Area of Delta State as a case study, various compensation claims were examined vis-à-vis open market claims in compulsory acquisition. It was found that many claimants received N1000.00 or less as full compensation claims for their crops while families lucky to own lands received more reasonable payments. It was established that there was no statutory provision for disturbance losses from revocation of land interest. Also, the productivity of economic crops and trees was not considered nor was computation of claims based on market-values. The paper established that claims should be compensated on the basis of productivity value and lifespan of interests being acquired and not on arbitrary rates supplied by the acquiring authorities.
Keywords: Boboroku, Compensation, Compulsory acquisition, Delta State, Niger-Delta, Nigeria