Oil Spill: Shell must pay Ogoni communities N17 billion, Supreme Court insists

The Supreme Court has dismissed an application by Shell Petroleum Development Company, asking it to review its judgement of January 11, 2019, that ordered Shell to pay N17 billion to Ogoni communities in Rivers State.

The communities were affected by an oil spill caused by the oil company in 1970.

A five-member panel of justices dismissed the application on the grounds that it had no merit since the court had taken a decision on the appeal and the court could not reverse itself.

The judgement prepared by Centus Nweze and read by Chukwudumebi Oseji on Friday in Abuja, held that the application had no merit.

The Supreme Court had issued the N17 billion order in favour of Ejama-Ebubu in Tai Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers.

The counsel to the communities, Lucius Nwosu, told journalists that the judgement sum, with interest accrued over the past 31 years, was about N182 billion.

Mr Nwosu had in September, at the hearing of the application, prayed the apex court to not only dismiss the application, but to also punish all the senior lawyers in Shell’s legal team for filing the judgement review application.

Mr Nwosu said the application was an attempt to ridicule the integrity and finality of the decisions of the apex court.

He further argued that the fresh appeal by Shell, which was filed seven months after the initial appeal was dismissed, was a calculated attempt to move the Supreme Court to sit on appeal over its final judgement. 

Mr Nwosu also told the apex court that the same Shell that was reluctant to pay damages to Nigerian victims of its oil spillage had in similar situations paid over 206 million dollars to victims in Mexico.

He said the previous litigation lasted over 30 years before the N17billion damages was awarded against Shell by the Court of Appeal.

One of the parties in the suit, a community leader, King George Osaro, told journalists that people of his community were overwhelmed with joy that the matter would finally be put to rest.

“We are really overwhelmed by the decision of the Supreme Court today because this will bring this whole Shell drama to an end,” he said.

“We feel vindicated from all the suffering the company has put us through. We advise Shell to retrace it’s steps and do what is right.”