Shell should take responsibility for oil spills, Nigerian King says before UK trial

|Published 9:09 PM ET, Friday March 7, 2025|

The leader of Nigeria’s Ogale community, His Royal Highness King Godwin Bebe Okpabi, has called on Shell to accept responsibility for environmental damages caused by oil spills in the Niger Delta. This appeal comes as a pivotal hearing begins at London’s High Court, where thousands from the Ogale and Bille communities are suing Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC, over widespread pollution impacting their lives. ​

“A people have been completely destroyed: people’s way of life destroyed; people’s only drinking water, which is the underground water aquifer, has been poisoned; people’s farmland has been completely poisoned; people’s streams that they use [for] their normal livelihood have been completely destroyed,” he said.

Shell contends that the majority of spills result from illegal activities such as pipeline sabotage and theft, which are prevalent in the Niger Delta. The company acknowledges its obligation to compensate those harmed by oil spills, even if SPDC is not at fault, but maintains it is not liable for damages caused by third-party interference or where compensation has already been provided. ​

“We strongly believe in the merits of our case.  Oil is being stolen on an industrial scale in the Niger delta. This criminality is a major source of pollution and is the cause of the majority of spills in the Bille and Ogale claims,” a spokesperson for the company said.

The four-week hearing aims to address issues of Nigerian law and determine SPDC’s liability, with a further trial scheduled for 2026. This case, initiated nearly a decade ago, follows a 2021 ruling by the UK Supreme Court that allowed similar lawsuits to be heard in English courts. ​

The Niger Delta has long suffered from environmental degradation due to oil spills, leading to the destruction of livelihoods and adverse health effects among local communities. Despite Shell’s assertions regarding the causes of these spills, affected communities and environmental groups continue to seek remediation and accountability through legal avenues.

​