The Ogale and Bille communities in Ogoni, Rivers State will have their case against oil multinational Shell Nigeria a subsidiary of SPDC, heard by the UK Court of Appeal from February 13 to March 10, 2025, after ten years of seeking for justice for their polluted land.
Members of the Bille and Ogale communities had dragged Shell to court claiming that spills from its oil facilities had caused pollution to their farmlands and waterways and they were unable to farm or fish for a living.
The communities brought their claims to the UK courts after it dragged in the Nigerian courts as Shell has repeatedly delayed the case arguing it had no legal responsibility for any of the pollution. On 6 December 2024, the UK Court of Appeal gave the green light for the case to go ahead.
Shell was the largest international oil company operating in Nigeria until it sold The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) in January 2024, following years of controversy over oil spills and high-profile lawsuits. Shell has remained active in Nigeria’s offshore oil and gas sector.
“The Bille and Ogale communities of Nigeria’s Niger Delta oil-producing region have been living with the devastating impact of oil pollution for so long,” said Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Country Director for Nigeria, said:
“Oil companies, particularly Shell, exposed them to multiple oil spills that have done permanent damage to farmlands, waterways, and drinking water – leaving them unable to farm or fish.
“Water contamination and other impacts affect even babies that are in some cases born with deformities. These communities have been deprived of a good standard of living. They deserve justice and effective remediation, and I hope this long-overdue trial goes someway to providing it.”
