Abuja, Nigeria – Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited has adopted its counter-affidavit in a suit filed by 1,216 plaintiffs who allege the company caused uncontrollable crude oil spillage into their communities. The legal teams countered each other before Justice Obiora Egwatu of the Federal High Court, who fixed judgment for May 4, 2026.
Okay News reports that Shell maintains the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is the holder of Oil Mining Lease 118, comprising the Bonga FPSO. Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited operates the Bonga Field as a contractor party under the Production Sharing Contract between the national oil company and Shell.
At the resumed hearing last Friday, plaintiffs accused Shell of disobeying a Mareva injunction against divestment. They alleged the company sold all its assets to evade oil spillage penalties and urged the court to enter judgment in their favour.
Shell’s lawyer, Babatunde Ige, adopted his counter-affidavit and preliminary objection. The counter-affidavit alleged Shell does not have operations or assets in Ondo State from which any activity could have affected plaintiffs’ communities.
However, the affidavit confirmed Shell is a going concern with a balance sheet size of N3.2 trillion as operator of the SPDC Joint Venture. This involves Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited, and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, with interests in 18 Oil Mining Leases.
The affidavit maintained that shareholders agreed to sell all shares, noting this is a share sale, not an asset sale. Ige argued that at the Akure Division where plaintiffs initially commenced the case, proceedings were adjourned indefinitely pending appeals.
He urged the court to dismiss the application as a gross abuse of court process, given pending appeals and plaintiffs’ alleged lack of legal right to bring the application.
Shell and its subsidiaries face several pending litigations over their Nigeria operations, with many proceeding on appeal. Justice Mohammed Umar previously ruled he would avoid colliding with a pending Supreme Court judgment on the long-running Gas Processing Agreement dispute between Shell and Global Gas and Refining Limited.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission declined to take sides in that dispute, asking the court to exercise its discretion.
