Nigerian King Declares War on Shell: “Pay $12 Billion for Disaster or You Won’t Flee”
Last Friday, an influential traditional leader in the Niger Delta, a prince in Nigeria's oil-rich region, demanded that Shell pay $12 billion for environmental pollution before leaving the region.
Bubaraye Dakolo, of Ekpetiama Kingdom, appeared before a federal court in the southern city of Yenagoa seeking compensation for clean-up after decades of environmental damage caused by Shell, according to a statement by a coalition of civil society groups.
Farming and fishing communities in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s oil-producing heartland, have fought years of legal battles over damage caused by oil spills in the area.
British energy giant Shell is one of the companies accused for decades of causing serious environmental degradation across Nigeria’s oil- and gas-rich southern region.
The monarch's legal challenge was prompted by Shell's recent divestment of $2.4 billion in Nigerian assets, as it moves to offshore-only operations.
The monarch and several civil society groups have accused Shell of seeking to “exit the Niger Delta without first dismantling aging infrastructure, repairing environmental damage and compensating the Ekpetiama people for the damage they have long suffered.”
According to Dakolo, Shell's activities have caused massive oil spills, gas flares and the destruction of fisheries and agriculture, making rivers, forests and farmland toxic.
The hearing and decision on the case has been postponed until July 22.
In addition to Shell, the lawsuit names as defendants the Nigerian ministries of petroleum and justice and a Nigerian upstream oil regulatory agency.
The lawsuit seeks to block the transfer of Shell assets pending an agreement on funds for environmental cleanup, decommissioning of obsolete infrastructure and compensation for communities.
“Shell wants to leave behind a disaster that has ruined our rivers, our farmlands and our livelihoods,” Dakolo said in the statement. “We will not accept abandonment.”
Isaac Asume Osuoka, director of Social Action Nigeria, one of the parties to the case, told AFP that “Shell wants to walk away with the profits, leaving behind toxic air, poisoned water and destroyed communities.”
Oil companies generally claim to operate according to industry best environmental practices and attribute most oil spills to sabotage and oil thieves hooking up to pipelines.
Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, has been keen to attract more foreign investment since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came to power in 2023, promising reforms and restoring oil production to its peak. The first positive results have recently started to come in.
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The article A Nigerian King Declares War on Shell: “Pay 12 Billion for the Disaster or You Will Not Flee” comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/nigeria-re-dichiara-guerra-shell-causa-12-miliardi-disastro-ambientale/ on Sat, 21 Jun 2025 21:03:01 +0000.