₦airaland Forum

The UK High Court trial finds that Shell plc and its former Nigerian subsidiary can be held legally responsible for legacy oil pollution in Nigeria.

by Press Release


The High Court has ruled that Shell plc and its former Nigerian subsidiary can be held legally responsible for legacy, or historic, oil pollution which has devastated the environments of two communities in Nigeria. The judgement means that Shell, and its former Nigerian subsidiary, can be held liable for oil spills and leaks going back many years.

Years of chronic oil spills have left the Bille and Ogale communities, which have a combined population of 50,000, without clean water, unable to farm and fish and with serious ongoing risk to public health. Shell tried to prevent these claims from getting to trial with a range of technical, legal arguments that have now been firmly rejected by the Court.

After a four-week High Court preliminary issues trial from 13 February to Friday 7 March 2025, Mrs Justice May ruled on Friday 20 June 2025 that Shell’s attempts to restrict the scope of the upcoming full trial, to be held in 2027, had failed. She made several findings that are important for environmental claims generally.


Claims for legacy pollution

Shell had argued that there was a strict five-year limitation period and that the communities were barred from claiming in relation to any oil spills that took place more than five years ago, even if they had not cleaned up the pollution. The judge rejected this and left it open to the communities to claim for oil spills which occurred more than five years ago, including if Shell has failed to clean them up properly.

The judge found that a failure to clean up could be an ongoing breach of Shell’s legal obligation to clean up and could create a fresh right to make a legal claim for every day that the pollution remained. The judge also considered that an oil spill could be a trespass and, where that was the case, “a new cause of action will arise each day that oil remains on a claimant’s land”.

This is a very significant development in these claims and more broadly for legacy environmental pollution caused by multinational corporations around the world. The legal position following the UK Supreme Court case of Jalla v Shell International Trading and Shipping Vo Ltd [2024] AC 595 appeared to be that corporations could not be held liable for legacy pollution if the claimants failed to file their claim within the relevant limitation period. However, the Judge distinguished this claim from Jalla and made it clear that the claimants are not prevented from bringing claims if a polluter has left contamination on their land, even if a spill happened many years ago.


Illegal bunkering and refining

During the preliminary issues trial Shell sought to blame much of the pollution in the Niger Delta on illegal activities such as oil theft (known as ‘bunkering’) or local artisanal refining of oil. The communities’ lawyers, Leigh Day, argued that Shell had repeatedly failed to take basic steps to stop the bunkering and resulting illegal refining and oil pollution, from taking place.

Shell argued that it could never be liable for pollution arising from bunkering or illegal refining. The judge rejected Shell’s arguments and found that Shell could be liable for damage from bunkering or illegal refining if it failed to protect its infrastructure, and particularly if there is evidence that its own staff have been complicit in the illegal activities.

The two communities allege that there is clear evidence that Shell’s employees and contractors are themselves complicit in illegal bunkering which causes devastating pollution in the Niger Delta and this will be a central issue in the trial which is due to take place in 2027. The communities are currently preparing to cite substantial evidence to support their allegations of complicity.


Liability of Shell plc

· Shell argued at the preliminary issues trial that the Nigerian legal framework prevented claims against its parent company, Shell plc, for oil spills from pipelines. The judge rejected this argument and concluded that Shell plc can still be liable for these spills.

This means that the claims against Shell plc will proceed to trial and there will be scrutiny of Shell plc’s involvement in its Nigerian operation over many years, which resulted in chronic pollution to the Bille and Ogale communities. The decision, together with the Supreme Court’s decision in Okpabi v Shell plc, also opens the door for Nigerian communities to pursue claims against Shell plc in the Nigerian courts, should they choose to do so.


Nigerian Constitution

· The communities also argued that Shell’s pollution breached their constitutional rights under the Nigerian constitution and African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The Judge found that oil pollution can engage the right to life under the Nigerian Constitution, finding that “knowledge about the impact of environmental harm has moved on such that there is now a greater readiness to see polluting activities as capable of engaging the right to life” (para 326).

The Judge noted that the “direction of travel” of the Nigerian Supreme Court was to recognise the relevance of fundamental human rights in cases of pollution. However, she did not allow the constitutional claims to proceed against Shell since as an English judge she felt that such a legal development about the interpretation of the Nigerian Constitution should be left to the Nigerian courts.

· The onus is now therefore on the Nigerian courts to clarify this point about whether an oil company such as Shell can be liable for breaches of fundamental constitutional rights arising from serious pollution.


Next steps

The trial is a significant moment in the legal claim by the Bille and Ogale communities, who have been fighting UK-based Shell plc and oil company Renaissance, formerly Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd, for a clean-up and compensation since 2015. Neither community has had a proper clean up despite the ongoing serious risk to public health documented by the United National Environment Programme in 2011.

The Bille and Ogale communities were represented in the trial by Leigh Day international team partners Daniel Leader and Matthew Renshaw who instructed Fountain Court’s Anneliese Day KC, Matrix’s Phillippa Kaufmann KC, Anirudh Mathur and Catherine Arnold, 2 Temple Gardens’ Alistair McKenzie and Blackstone Chambers George Molyneaux.

Reacting to the High Court judgement, the leader of the Ogale community, King Bebe Okpabi said:

“It has been 10 years now since we started this case, we hope that now Shell will stop these shenanigans and sit down with us to sort this out. People in Ogale are dying; Shell need to bring a remedy. We thank the judicial system of the UK for this judgment.”

Leigh Day international department partner, Matthew Renshaw said:

“Shell’s attempts to knock out or restrict these claims through a preliminary trial of Nigerian law issues have been comprehensively rebuffed. This outcome opens the door to Shell being held responsible for their legacy pollution as well as their negligence in failing to take reasonable steps to prevent pollution from oil theft or local refining. This sets an important new legal precedent in environmental claims against multinational corporations.

The trial against Shell and its former Nigerian subsidiary, including in relation to the complicity of their staff in illegal activities that caused pollution, will now take place in early 2027. Our clients reiterate, as they have repeatedly for 10 years, that they simply want Shell to clean up their pollution and compensate them for their loss of livelihood. It is high time that Shell stop their legal filibuster and do the right thing.”

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/802147-breaking-uk-court-rules-against-shell-over-nigerian-oil-spill.html

UK Court always bailing Nigeria out on judicial matter. Both on exploitation,exploration, corruption and it's likes.

Sharp!

How does this benefit the oil spillage-ravaged communities in the nearest future though?

That's the most important aspect.

Tinubu and Wike has finished our judiciary.

Anyway if you like vote a cow again Na for your body.


🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Shell and UK , them just be like Rat wey de chop your leg ,de blow you breeze

One day Niger delta will wake up from her slumber.Niger delta is the driving force of Nigeria, her environment is completely polluted due to oil drilling activities yet no key government project in niger Delta region. All the money is being channeled to Abuja

Eye opening now.
Eeyah... Is it good for the living? No.. So what is next?

OK.

They took this case to court instead of looking for a settlement

In Nigeria, where the events occurred and the consequences will be felt, Shell would be allowed to go free.

Thank you, UK.

Eye opening now.
Eeyah... Is it good for the living? No.. So what is next? . UK have done enough damage that all this solo mic.

EdiskyHarry:
One day Niger delta will wake up from her slumber.Niger delta is the driving force of Nigeria, her environment is completely polluted due to oil drilling activities yet no key government project in niger Delta region.

Is not about 9ja Delta waking up but about 9ja waking up from there slumber

Smartcitizen:
Tinubu and Wike has finished our judiciary.

Anyway if you like vote a cow again Na for your body.


🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Oh the irony in your name 😂

What does this have to do with Tinubu and Wike? Shell is UK company and they were sued in the UK by the affected communities. Do you want them to sue Shell in your village court?

A new Nigeria is beginning to arise through tinubu, what other government could not achieved ?!!! Every region feeding the country should get its full compensation! No more no less.

apoti:
What does this have to do with Tinubu? Shell is UK company and they were sued in the UK by the affected communities. Do you want them to sue Shell in your village court?

If we have a wonderful legal system, why should Nigerians sue a company operating in Nigeria in the UK?

We go to school in UK,

Tinubu and Wike go to hospital in UK and France,

The same thing with vacation..... one day they will ask you to go and vote for them in the UK and you will still clap for them for doing that.


Clap for yourself.

Smartcitizen:
Tinubu and Wike has finished our judiciary.

Anyway if you like vote a cow again Na for your body.


🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

If you are unable to service your woman, you go still blame Tinubu and Wike.

OK


we are waiting for the out come



Princess Faith Chukwuamaka

[quote author=Tjra post=135823935]If you are unable to satisfy your woman, you go still mention Tinubu and Wike.
[/quote

Before nko?

You don't know that useless government policies can affect the well-being of the people?


Sincerely speaking it's only in this part of the world you will hear this kind of rubbish.


Oh my goodness Nigerians are daft and they deserve the kind of leaders they have.


😭😭😭😭

The judgement useless court in Nigeria couldn’t deliver nah UK court delivered it…. Nigerian is not a country at all but a very useless shithole

Smartcitizen:
If we have a wonderful legal system, why should Nigerians sue a company operating in Nigeria in the UK?

We go to school in UK,

Tinubu and Wike go to hospital in UK and France,

The same thing with vacation..... one day they will ask you to go and vote for them in the UK and you will still clap for them for doing that.


Clap for yourself.

You don't have to keep exposing your ignorance here. If truly you "go school", you should have read the first line of the article which literarily says "Shell plc and its former Nigerian subsidiary". The subsidiary responsible no longer operates in Nigeria, they sold it last year, which is why they are holding the parent company responsible.

So tell me again should they have sued Shell plc in your village high court?

horia:
They took this case to court instead of looking for a settlement

Who will settle them without court order?

Smartcitizen:
Tinubu and Wike has finished our judiciary.

Anyway if you like vote a cow again Na for your body.


🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Definitely you will continue to wail till 2031 because we shall humiliate you again in 2027

apoti:
Oh the irony in your name 😂
What does this have to do with Tinubu and Wike? Shell is UK company and they were sued in the UK by the affected communities. Do you want them to sue Shell in your village court?

God bless your reasoning!
You know some are just charlatans on many Social Media, because they just entertain the gaulibles!

who read it all kindly summarize,

i wanted to say something but remembered that ban na 3weeks mak i hold my piss not peace

Shell committed these crimes in Nigeria and if we had competent and incorrigible judges in Nigeria the people of Niger-Delta won't have to go abroad to seek justice.

How many times have you seen foreign nationals come to Nigerian courts to seek redress for crimes of this magnitude committed against them in their own countries. If the accused flees the location of the crimes, they are extradited.

The Tinubu appointed AGF would be one at the fore-front to ensure that this case never sees the light of day.

Why are pretending like you don't know how corrupt Nigerian judges are.

apoti:
Oh the irony in your name 😂

What does this have to do with Tinubu and Wike? Shell is UK company and they were sued in the UK by the affected communities. Do you want them to sue Shell in your village court?

EdiskyHarry:
One day Niger delta will wake up from her slumber.Niger delta is the driving force of Nigeria, her environment is completely polluted due to oil drilling activities yet no key government project in niger Delta region. All the money is being channeled to Abuja

Lagos-calabar coastal road, dey will benefits from it.

jahsharon:
Definitely you will continue to wail till 2031 because we shall humiliate you again in 2027

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Humiliate who?

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

See people who are winning elections o!

yinkus6750:
UK Court always bailing Nigeria out on judicial matter. Both on exploitation,exploration, corruption and it's likes.

Because the Nigerians courts are blatantly corrupt and ever willing to turn a blind eye to oppression if the right wallets are greased.