The UK Supreme Court has ruled that it is too late for Nigerian claimants to sue two Shell subsidiaries over an oil spillage tussle.
The claimants are in court over a 2011 offshore oil spill which they say had an overwhelming long-term impact on the coastal area where they live.
The case is among a series of legal conflicts Shell has been fighting in London courts against residents of Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta.
Background
The Niger Delta has been wrecked by pollution, conflict and corruption related to the oil and gas industry.
The action brewed on Dec. 20,2021, during the loading of an oil tanker at Shell’s Bonga oil field.
At that time, there was leakage of over 40,000 barrels of crude oil, about 120KM off the coast of the delta.
Since then, a group of 27,800 individuals and 457 communities have made attempts to sue Shell.
They say the resultant oil slick polluted their lands and waterways, damaging farming, fishing, drinking water, mangrove forests among others.
However, a panel constituting five Supreme Court justices unanimously upheld rulings by two lower courts.
They told the court that they the complainants brought their case after the expiry of a six-year legal deadline for taking action.
The claimants’ lawyers maintained that the looming consequences of the pollution represented a “continuing nuisance”, a type of civil tort, which would have meant the deadline did not apply.
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Court`s decision
“The Supreme Court rejects the claimants’ submission. There was no continuing nuisance in this case,” said justice Andrew Burrows, delivering the ruling.
Shell initially said the Bonga spill did not impact the shoreline. The court didn’t rule on the disputed facts as it sought primarily to decide the legal point about nuisance.
Only two Nigerian nationals were appellants in the Supreme Court case, although, the ruling will consequently apply to the thousands of other claimants.
Shell ruled that the Supreme Court’s decision ended all legal claims in English courts related to the spill
“While the 2011 Bonga spill was highly regrettable, it was swiftly contained and cleaned up offshore,” a Shell spokesperson said.
A lawyer for the Nigerian appellants did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
The Supreme Court in the past, ruled against Shell in different case involving pollution in the Niger Delta.
It allowed a group of 42,500 farmers and fishermen from the Ogale and Bille communities in February 2021, to sue Shell over spills, and that case is currently underway at the High Court.
In 2015, Shell in another case agreed to pay out 55 million pounds ($70 million) to the delta’s Bodo community in compensation for two spills, during a protracted legal battle in London.
