The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has rejected the dismissal of a suit filed by the monarch of Ekpetiama Kingdom against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and other defendants over alleged decades of environmental pollution in Bayelsa State, urging the plaintiffs to pursue the matter to the Supreme Court.
The Federal High Court in Yenagoa, presided over by Justice Ayo Emmanuel, on July 17, 2026, dismissed the suit filed by the Amayanabo of Ekpetiama Kingdom, HRM King Bubaraye Dakolo.
The case sought to hold Shell accountable for alleged oil spills, gas flaring and environmental degradation in the Gbarain oil fields before the company’s divestment of its onshore assets to Renaissance African Energy Limited.
Other defendants in the suit included the Attorney General of the Federation and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The court dismissed the suit on grounds that the plaintiffs failed to comply with statutory conditions under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and the Upstream Petroleum Remediation Funds Regulations 2022.
It also held that the action was statute-barred under the Public Officers Protection Act and the Bayelsa State Limitation Law, ruled that the fundamental rights claims were secondary to tort-related claims, and consequently upheld the preliminary objections raised by the defendants.
Reacting to the judgment, HOMEF described the ruling as a setback for environmental justice, arguing that the issues raised in the case concern continuing environmental damage rather than historical events.
Executive Director of HOMEF, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, said the court’s decision addressed only procedural issues without examining the substance of the environmental allegations.
“Every one of these grounds is procedural; not a single finding goes to the merits of the environmental harm the Ekpetiama people have suffered for over six decades,” Bassey said.
He argued that the Federal Government, through the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the NUPRC and the Attorney General of the Federation, was rightly joined in the suit because of its role in approving the divestment, which he alleged failed to address environmental obligations under the Petroleum Industry Act.
Also commenting, HOMEF Legal Officer, Onome Etisioro, maintained that Shell’s environmental responsibilities to affected communities remain regardless of the court’s ruling.
She said Nigeria’s courts should have the opportunity to determine whether environmental degradation caused by oil exploration constitutes a continuing wrong that should not be defeated by limitation laws designed for ordinary civil disputes.
According to Etisioro, the dismissal of the suit on technical grounds deprived the judiciary of an opportunity to develop environmental jurisprudence capable of addressing the long-term impacts of oil extraction in the Niger Delta.
HOMEF further described the judgment as part of a broader pattern in which environmental cases of significant public interest are dismissed on procedural grounds before courts examine the merits of the claims.
The organisation commended lead counsel Chuks Uguru and the Ekpetiama legal team for indicating their readiness to challenge the judgment on appeal.
It also called on legal practitioners, environmental groups and human rights organisations within and outside the Niger Delta to support the anticipated appeal process to ensure what it described as justice for affected communities.
