Shell, Nigerian communities’ lawsuit may throw up further litigation
Experts in energy law in Nigeria say that International oil companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria may be in for more legal battles brought against them by communities in the Niger Delta region if a London high court in a few weeks rules that Royal Dutch Shell should face trail in the UK in a case between Bille and Ogale communities in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta region and Shell subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) over an oil spill.
They argued that with the lack of confidence expressed by many in the Nigerian Judicial system; this landmark adventure by the affected communities to seek favourable arbitration in the UK may just be the cue that opens up the flood gates for other communities to seek international court to settle their cases against other Multinational companies operating in their communities.
Reacting to this latest move by the Niger Delta communities to seek arbitration in UK, Oni Ayodele, a commercial lawyer that specialises in international energy investment law and policy told BusinessDay that the reputation of UK court when compared to what obtains currently in Nigeria is a strong factor to this recent move.
According to him, “More often than not if you check Nigeria case laws for oil spillage, for environmental pollution, most times, the communities loss on technical grounds because the IOCs have technically savvy lawyers who tend to almost always win while the communities tend to almost always loss in Nigeria”.
Oni opines that the communities would prefer to send the case between them and the IOCs abroad to the extent that the court has jurisdiction because they think that courts in England are reputable and are reputed for giving landmark judgment.
He further said that if in the coming weeks, the communities succeed in getting a favourable ruling this would further gas doubt in the ability of the Nigeria judicial system.
He called therefore called on the managers of the judicial system to see this development as a wake-up call that to put their house in order.
“Nigeria judges need to be more forward thinking and transparent. Anything that suggests that there is a foul play, needs to be properly dealt as this will bring back confidence in the already battered image of the Judiciary” he said.
Gom George, a multi-disciplinary lawyer in Lagos in a chat with BusinessDay observes that the delays in getting judgment from the Nigeria legal system may just be the first issue that is motivating the communities to seek help the UK, adding that most times, the aggrieved communities are not even sure that they would get judgment at the end of the day.
He recalls that the allegation against the judges for corruption has made a lot of people disenchanted with the judicial system saying that people just feel that they won’t get justice. “The reason a lot of people are scared of taking their cases to the Nigeria court is because they are just disenchanted with the system”.
It would be recalled that Bille and Ogale groups launched their claim just months after Shell agreed a 55 million pound ($68 million) settlement in 2015 with another Nigerian group, the Bodo community.
That case covered two pipeline leaks in 2008, which Shell accepted were its fault due to corrosion, and marked the largest ever out-of-court settlement relating to Nigerian oil spills.
KELECHI EWUZIE