The people of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Bayelsa State have explained why a case was instituted against Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
A landmark legal action had been instituted by His Royal Majesty, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom, and the people of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Bayelsa State against SPDC, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Attorney General of the Federation at the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, on June 20, 2024, with the full hearing scheduled to begin on July 22, 2025.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja, a conglomerate of civil society organisations, including the International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta (IWG), Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and Social Action Nigeria, and legal advocates said that they are united in a common cause to demand justice for oil and gas bearing communities of the Niger Delta, who have endured over six decades of pollution, exploitation, and neglect.
