HOMEF Opposes Court Ruling on Shell Pollution Case

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has rejected the court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit by the Ekpetiama Kingdom against Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and others. The lawsuit concerns years of environmental pollution in Bayelsa State. HOMEF called the court ruling a setback for environmental justice.

On Friday, the environmental group urged the Ekpetiama Kingdom to appeal the ruling. They said the Federal High Court in Yenagoa did not address the main issues raised in the case.

Justice Ayo Emmanuel of the Federal High Court in Yenagoa dismissed the case (marked FHC/YNG/CS/8/2025) on 17 July. The traditional ruler of the Ekpetiama Kingdom, King Bubaraye Dakolo, is the one who filed the lawsuit.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Federal High Court in Yenagoa dismissed the suit last Friday.

The lawsuit aimed to hold SPDC responsible for oil spills, gas flaring, and environmental damage in the Gbarain oilfields. This was before the company sold its onshore assets to Renaissance African Energy Limited.

Other defendants in the case included the Attorney General of the Federation and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

Grounds for Dismissal

HOMEF said the court dismissed the case based on procedural reasons. The court claimed the plaintiffs did not meet statutory requirements under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and the Upstream Petroleum Remediation Funds Regulations 2022.

HOMEF noted that the court also referenced limitation laws under the Public Officers Protection Act and the Bayelsa State Limitation Law. The court said the claims about fundamental rights were secondary to tort claims and accepted the preliminary objections from the defendants.

HOMEF argued that the ruling did not deal with the environmental issues raised by the plaintiffs. They maintained that where pollution continues and contaminated sites are not cleaned up, the environmental harm cannot be seen as only historical or ignored by time limits.

HOMEF Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey, said the ruling only focused on procedural issues. He added that it did not address the environmental damage faced by the Ekpetiama people.

“Every one of these grounds is procedural; not a single finding goes to the merits of the environmental harm the Ekpetiama people have suffered for over six decades,” Mr Bassey said.

Bassey also mentioned that the federal government agencies involved in the case were included because of their roles in approving Shell’s sale. The plaintiffs believe this did not properly address environmental responsibilities.

HOMEF’s Legal Officer, Onome Etisioro, stated that Shell’s responsibility for the environment does not end with the court dismissing the suit. He said Nigerian courts should clarify if long-term environmental damage is a continuing issue that should not be limited by time laws meant for regular civil cases.

Appeal Urged

The organization praised the Ekpetiama legal team, led by Chuks Uguru, for saying they plan to challenge the ruling. They called on environmental advocates, human rights groups, and legal experts to support any appeal from this case. They believe appellate courts should decide if procedural rules should stop courts from looking at important environmental claims.

This case comes amid ongoing discussions about environmental responsibility in Nigeria’s oil-producing areas, especially after international oil companies transferred onshore assets to local operators.