Justice Ayo Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State has dismissed the suit brought before it by King Bubaraiye Dakolo, the traditional ruler of Ekpetiama in Yenagoa Local Government Area, seeking redress and remediation of alleged cumulative pollution of his domain for 40 years by oil giants, Shell Petroleum Development Company.
The suit challenged Shell’s attempt to divest its onshore oil assets and exit the Niger Delta without first decommissioning obsolete infrastructure, remediating environmental damage, and compensating the Ekpetiama people for long-standing harm.
King Dakolo had outlined how Shell’s operations in the Gbarain oil fields—located within the Ekpetiama Kingdom had allegedly led to massive oil spills, gas flaring, and the destruction of fishing and farming livelihoods, and the community’s rivers, forests, and farmlands have been rendered toxic and unsustainable for life and livelihoods.
The plaintiffs argue that Shell’s planned divestment of its interest in the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) without fulfilling its environmental obligations in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution and laws is illegal and unjust, and that the Nigerian state, through the Minister of Petroleum Resources, NUPRC, and the Attorney General, has failed in its duty to prevent such corporate evasion of responsibility.
King Dakolo and the Ekpetiama people sought to stop Shell’s planned divestment (which they claim did not follow the stipulated guidelines in the Petroleum Industry Act) until the multinational accounts for its alleged environmental devastation, remediates polluted sites, decommissions obsolete infrastructure, and compensates the host communities affected by over six decades of oil extraction.
Listed as Defendants in a suit marked: FHC/YNG/CS/8/2025 filed on May 26th 2025 are; 1st Defendant Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC),2nd Defendant Shell Petroleum N.V., 3rd Defendant Shell PLC, 4th Defendant Attorney General of the Federation, 5th Defendants Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), 6th Defendant Minister of Petroleum Resources, and Renaissance African Energy Limited as the 7th Defendant.
However, delivering his ruling on Friday, July 17, 2026, Justice Ayo Emmanuel dismissed the suit in its entirety for lacking merit.
The presiding judge formulated four grounds upon which he dismissed the suit.
On the issue of fulfillment of statutory conditions precedent as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021 and Regulation 39 of the Upstream Petroleum Remediation Funds Regulations, 2022 prior to filing this suit as challenged by the defendants, Justice Ayo Emmanuel urged the plaintiffs to explore the provisions.
“I have perused the relevant statutory provisions vis-à-vis the Plaintiff’s amended statement of claim, and I fail to find any averment indicating compliance with these clear statutory mandates. The fulfillment of a condition precedent is an absolute necessity before invoking the jurisdiction of the Court. Consequently, the failure to fulfill this condition renders the suit premature and incompetent,” he stated.
Ruling on whether the matter was statute-barred as argued by the defendants by virtue of Section 2(a) of the Public Officers Protection Act (POPA), Section 307(2) of the PIA, and Section 16 of the Limitation Law of Bayelsa State, which stipulate a 3-month limitation period for actions against public officers and a 5-year limitation period for actions, he agreed with the objections of the defendants.
According to him “However, looking closely at the pleadings, the Plaintiff joins historical grievances stretching back decades with specific events that allegedly took place around 2024. A continuous injury means a recurrence of the legally wrongful act itself, not the continuous persistence of the injurious effects of a singular past act. From the facts presented, the alleged causes of action against the public officers (the 4th, 5th, and 6th Defendants) arose well outside the mandated 3-month period prescribed by POPA. Furthermore, the claims touching on tortious liability are caught by the 5-year limitation threshold under Section 16 of the Limitation Law of Bayelsa State.”
Regarding the issue of reasonable cause of action and fundamental rights claims, the presiding judge noted that the “Plaintiff attempted to frame this suit under the guise of an enforcement of fundamental human rights to escape the shackles of the limitation statutes.”
However, the judge ruled that “It is trite law that to properly qualify an action as a fundamental rights enforcement suit, the primary and principal relief sought must be the enforcement of a fundamental right guaranteed under Chapter IV of the Constitution, not where the human rights claim is merely ancillary or a secondary offshoot of a principal claim rooted in tortious liability and commercial divestments.
“The statement of claim predominantly seeks reliefs for environmental damages, negligence, and the halting of commercial asset divestments between the 1st and 7th Defendants. It does not qualify as a fundamental rights action.”
The preliminary objections filed by the Defendants are highly meritorious and are hereby sustained. Accordingly, this suit is hereby dismissed.
Speaking in an interview shortly after the court session, the legal representative of King Bubaraiye Dakolo of Ekpetiama kingdom, Chuks Uguru noted that despite the setback, they were willing to take the matter to the highest court in Nigeria, which is the Supreme Court.
“Today, the learned trial judge, in his reasoning, agreed with the objectors, and did not just strike out the case, but he dismissed the case on the ground inter alia that the action was statute-barred but we have our client’s standing instruction to file an appeal against the ruling of the learned trial judge, and that we shall do soon.
“We are not dispirited, we are not discouraged, we are not deterred. We shall fight this matter to the utmost end. So, we are already looking forward to the Supreme Court. If at the end of the day, the judiciary in Nigeria tells the people of Ekpetiama Kingdom that their rights cannot be ventilated because they right lost their right of action, then we will take it in good faith. But we will take the battle to the last, the court of last resort, which is the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” he stated.
It will be recalled that Renaissance Energy Africa, a consortium of indigenous oil firms in March 2025 acquired the onshore and shallow waters oil and gas assets hitherto operated by SPDC, following the divestments by Shell UK PLC, the parent company to SPDC.
