By Roland Oby Ogbonnaya
In a historic legal battle raging in Nigeria, the people of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Bayelsa State, led by King Bubaraye Dakolo, have sued oil giant Shell and several Nigerian government agencies. The suit, filed on June 20, 2024, alleges decades of devastating environmental damage from oil exploration and accuses Shell of attempting to evade responsibility through its proposed divestment. The case, scheduled for a full hearing on July 22, 2025, has received widespread support and raises critical questions about corporate accountability and environmental justice in the Niger Delta, writes ROLAND OGBONNAYA
In a landmark legal battle that could set a precedent for envi-ronmental accountability in Nigeria, the people of Ekpe-tiama Kingdom in Bayelsa State have sued oil giant Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), as well as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commis-sion (NUPRC), and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF). The case, filed on June 20, 2024, in Yenagoa’s Federal High Court by His Royal Majesty, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom, and the Ekpetiama com-munity, highlights the devastating impact of decades of oil explora-tion on their land, livelihood, and health. The full hearing is sched-uled to start on July 22, 2025.
The lawsuit centres on Shell’s proposed divestment from onshore assets in the Niger Delta, which the plaintiffs claim is a clear attempt to avoid responsibility for years of en-vironmental damage. They argue that Shell’s actions violate Nige-rian law, including the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021, as well as fundamental constitutional rights.
A coalition of civil society or-ganisations, including the Inter-national Working Group on Petro-leum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta (IWG), Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), and Social Action Ni-geria, have expressed solidarity with the Ekpetiama people and their fight for justice.
“We are united in a common cause to demand justice for the Niger Delta’s oil and gas bearing communities, who have endured over six decades of pollution, ex-ploitation, and neglect,” represen-tatives of the organisations stated at a press conference in Abuja.
The plaintiffs’ central claim is that Shell and its affiliates have wreaked havoc on the environ-ment, leaving a legacy of unreme-diated oil spills, gas flaring, and abandoned toxic infrastructure, particularly in the Gbarain oil fields of the Ekpetiama Kingdom. The lawsuit claims that Shell’s proposed sale of a 30% stake in SPDC to Renaissance Africa Ener-gy Company Ltd. violates its legal obligations to decommission facil-ities, restore impacted sites, and compensate affected communities.
Adding to the gravity of the situation, the plaintiffs accuse the NUPRC and other state actors of failing to fulfil their statutory obli-gations to protect host communities, instead facilitating a divestment process that shifts environmental and financial liabilities onto the Nigerian state and its people.
The plaintiffs are seeking a judi-cial declaration that the divestment is illegal, an injunction prohibiting Shell and its successors from final-ising the transaction until legal obligations are met, and an order directing the government and reg-ulatory agencies to carry out their constitutional responsibilities to protect environmental and human rights.
Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of the Health of Moth-er Earth Foundation (HOMEF), described the situation bluntly, saying, “The Niger Delta has long been a brutalised sacrifice zone for fossil fuel colonialism.” For over 70 years, transnational oil companies, led by Shell, have extracted wealth from our lands and waters, leaving behind poisoned creeks, blazing skies, and broken lives.”
Bassey emphasised the scope of the problem, referring to Ekpetia-ma as “one of many communities that have become crime scenes of ecological warfare,” and insisting that the lawsuit is about “resisting annihilation” rather than simply asserting rights.
Bassey believes that true justice must begin with acknowledging that the environment is more than just a backdrop, but “life itself.” He calls for a just transition that prioritises healing the wounds of exploitation, holding polluters ac-countable, and forcing them to “pay up, clean up, and restore what they have destroyed.”
The findings of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC), according to HOMEF, paint a bleak picture of Shell’s legacy in the region: “death zones, toxic exposure, loss of liveli-hoods, and denial of dignity.”
King Bubaraye Dakolo, the Aga-da IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom and Chair of the Bayelsa State Coun-cil of Traditional Rulers, spoke passionately about the personal impact of the oil industry on his community. “This case is not sole-ly about me or my kingdom. “It is about justice for the entire Niger Delta,” he said.
He described the daily reality of living near the Gbarain Gas Plant: “The gas flares blaze day and night right outside my window.” I live with the constant light that has erased the night, the noise, and the poison in the air. My people drink from polluted streams and farm-land contaminated with crude. Our kids breathe in soot. Our people are now suffering from cancers and unexplained diseases that were unknown before oil arrived.”
The King lamented his people’s treatment as “collateral damage in the ruthless pursuit of oil wealth,” emphasising that their lands are poisoned, rivers destroyed, and people silenced. He cited BSOEC findings, which revealed the alarm-ing extent of environmental devas-tation in Bayelsa State.
The Commission’s findings re-vealed that Bayelsa State has some of the worst oil pollution levels in the world, affecting over 1.5 million people. Communities have been ex-posed to dangerous chemicals like chromium and benzene at levels far exceeding the World Health Organization’s safety limits. Oil spills have contaminated primary water sources, leaving residents to rely on polluted creeks and ponds. Soil samples revealed extremely high levels of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), making the lands unsuitable for agriculture. Fish stocks have plummeted, compromising food security and livelihoods. Furthermore, the Com-mission determined that Shell and other oil companies failed to con-duct proper decommissioning and cleanup, leaving a legacy of rust-ing, leaking pipelines and aban-doned wellheads that continue to pollute.
“Shell operated in my kingdom with reckless disregard for life, law, and legacy,” King Dakolo declared unequivocally. “Now they want to walk away, sell their assets, and avoid responsibility. We say no. We demand justice. This lawsuit is a call for recognition, reparation, and restoration.”
He issued a call to action to all well-meaning Nigerians, interna-tional observers, and justice-seekers, urging them to closely monitor the case and send a clear message to Shell that “the Niger Delta is not for sale.”
Chuks Uguru, Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs, emphasised the legal basis for the lawsuit, stating, “We have filed a lawsuit against SPDC, Shell Corporation, Renais-sance Group, and federal agents for the unlawful divestment of oil assets in Ekpetiama Kingdom. Shell intends to sell its assets and end its decades-long operations in the region without addressing its environmental liabilities, in viola-tion of Nigerian and international environmental laws.
Uguru emphasised the funda-mental human right to a clean and healthy environment, as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He claimed that the Ekpetiama community has suffered loss of livelihood, health consequences, and irreversible en-vironmental damage.
“This suit seeks to halt the di-vestment process until full environ-mental remediation, decommis-sioning of obsolete infrastructure, and compensation to affected com-munities are completed,” Uguru stated. “We are confident that the Federal High Court will uphold justice, enforce the rule of law, and protect the rights of the people of Ekpetiama and the entire Niger Delta.”
Dr. Prince Edegbuo, Programme Manager at Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action Nigeria), spoke about the organi-zation’s long-standing commitment to assisting frontline communities in the Niger Delta in exposing en-vironmental and social injustices.
“For nearly two decades, Social Action Nigeria has worked closely with frontline communities in the Niger Delta to expose systemic en-vironmental and social injustices committed by multinational oil companies,” Dr. Edegbuo stated. “The story of the Ekpetiama King-dom represents the broader expe-rience of communities throughout the region whose lands have been sacrificed on the altar of fossil fuel extraction.”
Dr. Edegbuo emphasised the im-portance of refocusing the narra-tive on accountability and redress, redefining what energy transition means for those who have borne the costs of extraction.
“We must redefine energy tran-sition for those who have borne the costs of extraction,” he stated. He urged the judiciary, civil society, and the general public to see the case as a watershed moment, ushering in a new era in which the lives of Nige-rian citizens are valued.
“Let it be the start of an era in which the living conditions of Ni-gerian citizens matter,” Dr. Edeg-buo concluded. “Nigeria must rise above vested interests. Our justice and governance systems must ben-efit the people, not just a few corpo-rate profiteers and their enablers.
As the legal battle progresses, the Niger Delta and the world will be watching to see if justice is final-ly served for the people of Ekpetia-ma Kingdom. The outcome of this case has the potential to change the landscape of environmental regulation and corporate account-ability in Nigeria’s oil-rich region.