By Ife Osemedua
An application filed by oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), requesting the Supreme Court to review the January 11, 2019 judgment which ordered it to pay N17bn to some Ogoni communities in Rivers State affected by its oil spill in 1970, has been dismissed.
This is just as the counsel to the affected communities, Lucius Igwe, disclosed that the judgment sum with the accrued interests for the 32 year period which the case lasted for stood at about N182bn.
The dismissal was sequel to the consideration of the appeal by a five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour on Friday.
The judges unanimously agreed to uphold the preliminary objection filed by Ejama-Ebubu Community in Tai Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State in a lead report prepared by Justice Centus Nweze and read by Justice Chukwudumebi Oseji, who is not a member of the five-man panel.
Isaac Agbara and nine others filed the objection years ago but counsel to the communities, Igwe, had, in a September 22, 2020 hearing leading to the Supreme Court’s ruling delivered on Friday, prayed for the outright dismissal of the application and a restraining order against all the senior lawyers in Shell’s legal team as “deterrence” for the filing of the judgment review application which, according to him, was aimed at ridiculing the integrity and finality of the decisions of the court.
Shell was represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) as lead, in addition to Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), and Wale Akoni (SAN).
Agabi was Nigeria’s one time Attorney General and Minister of Justice.