Chima Williams Adds Another Feather To His Cap, Bags IEHESE 2022 Awards

The New Diplomat
Writer

Ad

Nigeria’s FX Reserves Surge to $41bn Under Tinubu, But Still Lower Than Obasanjo’s $67bn

By Abiola Olawale Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) reserves have reached a 44-month high, climbing to $41 billion as of August 19, 2025, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). According to recent data from the CBN, this milestone reflects a steady accumulation driven by strategic economic reforms, increased oil production, and enhanced…

Trump slaps sanctions on Canadian International Criminal Court judge

The Trump administration slapped a Canadian judge on the International Criminal Court with sanctions as the U.S. State Department continues to push back on the tribunal. The State Department said Wednesday that Kimberly Prost was sanctioned for “ruling to authorize the ICC’s investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.” The ICC website says Prost has been…

Reprieve as Trump’s half-billion-dollar civil fraud penalty is voided by court

By Obinna Uballa A New York state appeals court on Thursday overturned a civil fraud penalty of more than $500 million imposed on President Donald Trump, ruling that the monetary sanction violated the U.S. Constitution. The Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court held that the fine—initially set at $454 million and now…

Ad

Executive Director of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Barrister Chima Williams has received the Energy Security Ambassador Award of Excellence in recognition of what the International Energy, Health & Safety Events (IEHESE) said, is his “exemplary commitment towards an Energy Secure Nigeria” at the IEHESE 2022 Conference & Awards.

The IEHESE is an exclusive platform that facilitates knowledge and experience sharing, innovations in safety management and promotes the development and review of initiatives that accelerate improvements in safe work performance for the energy, oil, and gas industry in Nigeria.

Chima Williams is one of the recipients of the 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s foremost award for grassroots environmental activists.

Williams who became ERA/FoEN Executive Director in October 2020 won the award based on his work with two Niger Delta communities to hold Royal Dutch Shell accountable for environmental damage caused by a spill from its facilities into the communities between 2004 and 2007.

On the 29th January 2021, after 13 years of legal proceedings, the Court of Appeal sitting in The Hague, Netherlands, the home country of Shell, ruled in favour of three Nigerian farmers from two communities in two States of the Niger Delta – Eric Barizaa Dooh of Goi Community of Rivers State; Fidelis Oguru and Alali Efanga both from Oruma Community of Bayelsa State.

The Court ruled that not only was Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary responsible for the oil spills, but, as parent company, Royal Dutch Shell also had an obligation to prevent the spills.

The ruling was the first time a Dutch transnational corporation has been held accountable for the violations of its subsidiary in another country, opening Shell to legal action from communities across Nigeria devastated by the company’s disregard for environmental safety.

Ad

X whatsapp