Nigerian court dismisses Shell pollution lawsuit

A Nigerian court has dismissed a lawsuit by a traditional monarch in the oil-rich Niger Delta seeking to halt Shell’s divestment from onshore assets over decades of environmental pollution.

The Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, ruled on Friday that the suit filed by King Bubaraiye Dakolo of Ekpetiama kingdom was “premature and incompetent.” Justice Ayo Emmanuel said the allegations were statute-barred under Nigerian law, noting that objections to divestment must be filed within three months under the Petroleum Industry Act. He also ruled that the monarch lacked the legal standing to bring the case.

Dakolo had sought to block Shell’s exit from Nigeria’s onshore oil sector, arguing that the company had not cleaned up decades of pollution. More than 40 years of oil spills and gas flaring have caused severe environmental damage in the Niger Delta, destroying fishing and farming livelihoods.

A 2023 investigation by the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission estimated it would cost $12 billion to clean up the state, where oil was first discovered in Africa in the 1950s.

Shell said it was “pleased” with the ruling and blamed the “vast majority” of pollution on oil theft, sabotage and illegal refining by criminal gangs. However, the company said its subsidiary worked to clean up spills from its facilities “regardless of the cause.”

Dakolo’s lawyer, Chukwudi Uguru, said they would appeal. “We shall fight this matter to the utmost end and are already looking forward to the Supreme Court,” he said.

Shell completed the sale of its onshore subsidiary to Renaissance Africa Energy in March 2025 but remains a major investor in Nigeria’s gas sector.

SOURCE: MRA