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Nigerians allege that Shell is dragging the oil spill lawsuit laid against them

by donaldmooney Views: 9

CHINEDU OKAFOR

April 5, 2023 12:10 PM

  

Shell Plc has been stopped from selling its Nigerian offshore assets; here's why

Shell Plc has been stopped from selling its Nigerian offshore assets; here’s why

  • Hundreds of Bille and Ogale residents are suing Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary SPDC for oil leaks. 
  • Shell has asked the High Court to schedule an initial trial in early 2024 to determine if certain aspects of the lawsuit were brought too late.
  • Shell firmly rejects any culpability and claims that some complaints were filed too late.
GOI, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA – OCTOBER 15: A woman retrieves cassava that she buried in the mud of a mangrove swamp before an oil spill occurred October 15, 2004 in Goi, Nigeria. The oil came from a 24-inch Shell pipeline that spilled crude oil earlier in the week, which Shell alleged was a result of sabotage. (Photo by Jacob Silberberg/Getty Images)

Shell Plc is seeking to hide from scrutiny over pollution in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta, lawyers for over 13,000 Nigerians said in London’s High Court on Tuesday, charges that the corporation firmly disputes.

A man holds a pool of black oil in the palm of his hands, collected from oil pollution caused by a damaged pumping station, previously operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, near the Ogoniland village of K-Dere, Nigeria, on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016. With his security forces engaged in fighting Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency in the north, President Muhammadu Buhari can’t afford renewed rebellion in the delta. Photographer: George Osodi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Hundreds of Bille and Ogale residents are suing Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary SPDC for oil leaks. Shell firmly rejects any culpability and claims that some complaints were filed too late.

According to the report, most leaks were caused by illicit third-party activity, such as pipeline sabotage and oil theft.

The corporation is requesting that the High Court schedule an initial hearing in early 2024 to determine if sections of the lawsuit were brought too late and whether SPDC is accountable for oil leaks caused by third-party involvement.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY Joel Olatunde Agoi – A man scoops spilled crude oil allegedly caused by Shell equipment failure floating at the bank of B-Dere waterways in Ogoniland, Rivers State, on August 11, 2011. The Bodo community in the oil-producing Niger Delta region sued Shell oil company in the United Kingdom, alleging that spills in 2008 and 2009 had destroyed the environment and ruined their livelihoods. The UN released a report this month saying decades of oil spills in the Nigerian region of Ogoniland may require the biggest cleanup ever undertaken, with communities dependent upon farmers and fishermen left ravaged. AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images)

Shell claims that two further trials might follow to evaluate the charges against its subsidiary and Shell’s purported culpability as its parent corporation.

Shell’s plan has been presented as a mechanism to hide (Shell) from examination, according to Richard Hermer, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in court documents.

The action, which began in 2015 in parts, has already been heard by the UK Supreme Court, which found in 2021 that there was an arguable case that Shell owed the claimants a duty of care. Allowing Shell’s proposal, according to Hermer, may delay a final ruling on the claims until 2029.

“The reality is that the defendants can readily afford for their claimants to run for seven more years but the claimants cannot,” he said.

Shell’s lawyer, James Goldsmith, told the court that “the claimants are accountable for the continuous delays” since they did not disclose enough material about their claims.

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