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A Nigerian federal court dismissed a lawsuit on Friday by a traditional monarch, Bubaraye Dakolo, who sought to block Shell from selling its onshore assets over decades of environmental pollution.
Dakolo, the monarch of the Ekpetiama kingdom in Bayelsa State, sued the British energy giant after it announced the sale of its onshore business to a local consortium, Renaissance Africa Energy, in March 2025.
The suit aimed to stop the exit until Shell cleaned up extensive oil spills and gas flaring that have devastated local farming and fishing livelihoods for more than 40 years.
Federal High Court Judge Ayo Emmanuel ruled the lawsuit “premature and incompetent,” stating that Nigerian law barred the allegations due to a statute of limitations.
The judge clarified that the case focused predominantly on environmental damages and commercial divestments rather than qualifying as a fundamental rights action.
The ruling protects Shell’s exit from the joint venture, where it previously held a 30 per cent stake alongside TotalEnergies, Agip, and a state-owned enterprise.
A Shell spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision, attributing the vast majority of local pollution to oil theft, sabotage, and illegal refining by organised criminal gangs.
However, Dakolo’s lawyer, Chukwudi Uguru, stated that the ruling does not discourage them and confirmed plans to appeal the decision all the way to the Supreme Court.
While Shell is offloading these specific onshore assets, it remains a major investor in the country, having recently announced a potential $20 billion foreign direct investment in a separate Nigerian gas project.
