Nigeria to impose stiffer penalties on oil firms violating environmental laws.

Text of report by private Nigerian newspaper The Guardian website on 6 October

[Report by Sulaimon Salau: "Oil Firms To Face Stiffer Penalties for Spillage"]

Stiffer penalties await oil sector multinationals for violations of the nation's environmental laws, under a planned review of the enabling Act of the industry watchdog, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).

The review is expected to strengthen the regulatory functions of NOSDRA in tackling the menace of oil spillage, which has been identified as a major cause of environmental degradation in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The Minister of Environment, Mr John Odey, said at …