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Ghanaian fishermen demand compensation for oil spill

Thousands of Ghanaian fishermen in Nigeria's Akwa Ibom State have gone to the Federal High Court in Lagos to seek compensation for an oil spill in January 1998, `The Guardian' newspaper of Lagos reported on Thursday. The 2,000 fishermen said they had been excluded from compensation payments even though they produced up to 95 percent of sea food and own most of the fishing boats in the state. "Who then should have incurred more losses as a result of the oil spill?" said Kwabena Osarfo, president of the state branch of the National Association of Ghanaian Communities in Nigeria.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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