Nigerian court dismisses lawsuit seeking to halt Shell's divestment
Africanews
A Nigerian court dismissed a lawsuit by a traditional monarch that sought to stop Shell from divesting its onshore assets, citing decades of pollution.Summary
In Bayelsa state, traditional monarch Bubaraye Dakolo sued Royal Dutch Shell to block its planned divestment of onshore assets, arguing that the company had caused decades of environmental damage in the Niger Delta. A Federal High Court judge dismissed the case as "premature" and statute‑barred, noting that the claims were not a fundamental rights action. The court cited a four‑year investigation that estimated $12 billion would be needed to clean up Bayelsa, and Shell said it had already been working to remediate spills, blaming most pollution on criminal theft and sabotage. Dakolo’s lawyer said the case would be appealed to the Supreme Court.
(Source：Africanews)