L-R: Founder, Home of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Rev. Nnimmo Bassey with His Royal Majesty, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom and Chair of the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers.
A coalition of civil society organisations have affirmed their support and solidarity with His Royal Majesty, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom and Chair of the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers, as the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, convenes today for the first hearing of the suit filed against Shell, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The coalition includes among others, Social Action Nigeria, the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), the International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and the Just Transition in the Niger Delta (IWG), the Bayelsa State Non-Governmental Organisations Forum (BANGOF), HEDA Resource Centre, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre.
The suit challenges Shell’s attempt to divest its onshore oil assets and exit the Niger Delta without first decommissioning obsolete infrastructure, remediating environmental damage, and compensating the Ekpetiama people for long-standing harm. It raises fundamental issues about the constitutional and environmental rights of the Niger Delta’s indigenous communities, Shell’s corporate liability, and the Nigerian government’s responsibility to protect its citizens.
A struggle for justice and dignity in the Niger Delta
In the statement of claim, King Dakolo outlines how Shell’s operations in the Gbarain oil fields – located within the Ekpetiama Kingdom in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State -have led to massive oil spills, gas flaring, and the destruction of fishing and farming livelihoods. The community’s rivers, forests, and farmlands have been rendered toxic and unsustainable for life and livelihoods.
The plaintiffs argue that Shell’s planned divestment of its interest in the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) without fulfilling its environmental obligations in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution and laws is illegal and unjust, and that the Nigerian state, through the Minister of Petroleum Resources, NUPRC, and the Attorney General, has failed in its duty to prevent such corporate evasion of responsibility.
King Dakolo and the Ekpetiama people seek to stop Shell’s planned divestment until Shell accounts for its environmental devastation, remediates polluted sites, decommissions obsolete infrastructure, and compensates the host communities affected by over six decades of irresponsible oil extraction.
This suit represents a stand for the rights of host communities and the rule of law in Nigeria. The plaintiffs are asking the court to:
- Declare that Shell’s proposed divestment without environmental remediation and decommissioning is unlawful;
- Compel the NUPRC and federal authorities to fulfill their constitutional and statutory responsibilities;
- Uphold the constitutional rights of affected communities under the Nigerian Constitution (right to life and dignity);
- Prevent the transfer of assets and liabilities to successor companies without legal and environmental accountability.
According to Barrister Chuks Uguru, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, “this action against SPDC, Shell Corporation, Renaissance Group, and federal agents is over the unlawful divestment of oil assets in Ekpetiama Kingdom whose members have the fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter.”
Backed by facts: the Bayelsa Commission report
This case is grounded in the extensive findings of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC), composed of experts from Europe, North America, and Africa. The Commission revealed that:
- Bayelsa State suffers from some of the worst oil pollution levels in the world, resulting from the operations of Shell and other international oil companies;
- Over 1.5 million people in Bayelsa are impacted by hydrocarbon pollution;
- Communities have been exposed to Chromium, benzene and other cancer-causing chemicals far exceeding World Health Organization safety limits;
- Oil spills have contaminated nearly all primary water sources, forcing residents to rely on visibly polluted creeks and ponds;
- Soil samples revealed extremely high levels of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), rendering lands unfit for agriculture;
- Air quality measurements near Shell facilities recorded particulate matter and soot far above permissible health thresholds;
- In some communities, fish stocks have declined by over 70%, impacting food security and livelihoods;
- Shell and other oil companies have failed to carry out proper decommissioning and cleanup, leaving rusting, leaking pipelines and abandoned wellheads that continue to pollute.
Shell, the largest operator, was named as a primary culprit.
“This divestment is a crude attempt by Shell to run away from the disaster it created,” said His Royal Majesty, King Bubaraye Dakolo. “We demand justice, not abandonment. Shell must clean up, compensate, and decommission. Only then can it leave.”
This is a test case for corporate accountability
The case has drawn broad support from national and international civil society groups concerned about environmental justice and a just energy transition.
“Shell wants to exit with profit, leaving behind toxic air, poisoned water, and broken communities,” said Dr. Isaac Asume Osuoka, Director of Social Action Nigeria. “We are here to say: no more. Planned onshore asset selloffs by transnational oil corporations must not become a license to flee environmental accountability in the Niger Delta extraction sites, which is home to human beings.”
“The Niger Delta cannot be a sacrificial zone for fossil fuel greed,” added Reverend Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF). “We stand in solidarity with King Dakolo and the people of Ekpetiama Kingdom in demanding that Shell pay for the damage it has done before it walks away.”
“The evidence is clear. Seventy years of fossil fuel production in Nigeria’s Niger Delta has destroyed ecosystems, economies, environments and human habitats. If just transition is to be more than just a slogan, clean up, restoration, and repair must be mandatory for oil companies divesting, before they up sticks and leave,” said Dr. Kathryn Nwajiaku‑Dahou, Director of the Politics and Governance Programme at ODI Global and co-Convener of the IWG.
International Dimensions: Precedent for Transition Justice
Developments in the Niger Delta, which contains the most polluted oil and gas production sites in the world world, have relevance for the global transition away from fossil fuels. That is why this case poses urgent questions about what a just transition means for communities here and others in the tropical regions of the Global South, which are at the frontlines of fossil extraction.
“This case sets a precedent in Nigeria, the Gulf of Guinea region, and globally,” said Professor Engobo Emeseh, Head of the School of Law at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom, speaking for the Legal and Justice Committee of the IWG. “It says clearly: there can be no just energy transition without corporate accountability, environmental restoration, and community consent.”
Call to The judiciary: Uphold the Law, Defend the People
We call on the Federal High Court to act decisively to:
- Restrain Shell and its partners from finalising any asset sale or divestment until full compliance with environmental and human rights obligations is demonstrated;
- Compel regulators like the NUPRC to enforce the Petroleum Industry Act and protect host communities;
- Affirm the rights of indigenous peoples of the Niger Delta to clean environments, safe livelihoods, and full consultation.
“This is a crucial moment in Nigeria’s environmental and legal history,” according to Olanrewaju Suraju, Director of HEDA Resource Centre. “The court has a unique opportunity to uphold justice, protect the rule of law, and demonstrate that no corporation is above accountability in Nigeria.”
Signed by:
- Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action Nigeria)
- Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)
- International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and the Just Transition in the Niger Delta (IWG)
- Bayelsa State Non-Governmental Organisations Forum (BANGOF)
- HEDA Resource Centre
- Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre
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