By Obiabin Onukwugha
A United Kingdom (UK) court, last Thursday, commenced hearing of an appeal instituted by Bodo, a community in Gokana local government area of Rivers State, South/South Nigeria against Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
In 2012, 15,000 members of Bodo community through their legal representative, Leigh Day, a UK Law Firm, filed a lawsuit against Shell in London High Court seeking compensation for two oil spills, which occurred in 2008 and 2009.
The plaintiffs asked for compensation for losses suffered to their health, livelihoods and land, and as well, clean-up and remediation. The plaintiffs had posited that the relevant pipelines caused spills because they were over 50 years old and poorly maintained, and that Shell reacted too slowly after being alerted to the spills.
After several opositions to the suit, Shell in 2015, accepted responsibility for the spilsl and agreed to a £55 million out-of-court settlement and to assist in clean up the area.
The judge had on 20 June 2014 ruled that Shell could be held responsible for spills from their pipelines if the company fails to take reasonable measures to protect them from malfunction or oil theft (illegal bunkering).
Businesshumanrights reports that in June 2017, Shell tried to strike out the lawsuit alleging that some members of the community obstructed clean up. The Court dismissed the claim. Shell then sought to prevent the community from going back to court by requesting to include a clause in the settlement, according to which any disruptive act by any resident of the Bodo community would lead to termination of the lawsuit. On 24 May 2018, a UK judge ruled that the Bodo community should retain the right to revive the claim for another year with no conditions attached, in the event of the clean-up not be completed to an adequate standard.
In May 2023, during a hearing, the Bodo community claimed Shell’s clean-up operation was insufficient. In response, Shell asked the court to reject the community’s attempts to secure the use of independent scientific expertise in its clean-up. The judge rejected Shell’s motion to strike and ruled that the community is entitled to have the evidence about the alleged inadequate clean-up heard at a substantive trial expected to start on 17 February 2025.
NatureNews learnt that Shell failed to keep to the out-of-court settlement agreement which included that Shell pay compensations, clean up the environment, remediate the environment and restore the environment, which made the Bodo community to reinstitute the matter.
At the resumed trial, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited (RAEC) is now being held responsible in place of Shell, as it recently completed acquisition of Shell’s onshore and shallow water assets stake Nigeria.
Commenting on the resumed trial, Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria Director, described it as long-overdue, saying the trial must provide the Bodo communities the justice and remediation they have fought for.
Sanusi also stated that it is shameful that it has taken so long and required legal action to get the companies responsible for the environmental destruction to face their responsibilities.
He pointed out that the case aims to prove that Shell’s promised clean-up is far from complete and contamination continues to pose a serious health risk to tens of thousands of people.
Sanusi said: “Almost two decades since oil spills by Shell’s then-Nigerian subsidiary SPDC devastated huge swathes of mangrove habitat, the Bodo community whose lives and livelihoods were – and continue to be – affected by the pollution, have a final chance for justice. This long-overdue trial must provide the Bodo communities the justice and remediation they have fought for.
“Despite Shell admitting responsibility for the pollution over a decade ago, this case aims to prove that their promised clean-up is far from complete and contamination continues to pose a serious health risk to tens of thousands of people.
“It is shameful that it has taken so long and required legal action to get the companies responsible for this environmental destruction to face their responsibilities. We hope that this long-overdue trial will provide the affected Bodo communities the justice and remediation they have fought for and deserve. This is a historic moment that should serve as a reminder that a just transition to clean energy also means holding polluters to account for the harm they have caused in the past.”
On his part, Chief Polycarp Gbaraba, Chairman of the Council of Chiefs of Bodo, said: “We cannot understand how one of the world’s richest companies can destroy the environment of our community and is now seemingly trying to walk away without properly cleaning up. These huge oil spills have totally destroyed our environment and ruined our livelihoods.
“Shell admitted responsibility for the pollution in 2014. Yet, more than a decade later, we are still having to fight to get the oil companies responsible to carry out a thorough clean-up. It is not too much to ask that our environment should be restored and that we can live without fear of illness caused by Shell’s oil. We trust that we will finally get justice from the English courts.”
Leigh Day’s Daniel Leader.was also quoted as saying: “At the heart of this trial are two huge oil spills in 2008 which destroyed the Bodo community’s environment and put the health of around 30,000 local people at risk. Our clients will present evidence which they believe shows Shell’s clean-up has only removed 7% of the oil from the ground and that, 17 years after the spills, the operation is still incomplete.
“The Bodo community has sought to find a way forward without the need to return to court but Shell has flatly refused to engage. That is why the community has had to bring this matter to trial to ensure that Shell, and the company that purchased its Nigerian operations, cannot simply walk away from the pollution they caused without cleaning it up.”
The community is demanding a new, comprehensive clean-up, which experts estimate could cost Renaissance around £450 million ($600 million USD). If the court rules in the community’s favour, they may be awarded funding for an independent clean-up or receive a binding directive compelling the company to meet higher environmental standards.
Saharareporters reports that the outcome of the case could have far-reaching implications not only for Shell and Renaissance but also for other Niger Delta communities seeking redress. Leigh Day is also representing the Ogale and Bille communities in similar lawsuits against Shell/Renaissance, with judgment pending in those matters following a preliminary hearing in February 2025.