Shell faces trial over oil pollution

The trial is a significant moment for the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger Delta, who have been fighting Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC, for a clean-up and compensation since 2015. The communities, with a combined population of 80,000, claim they have suffered from hundreds of spills from Shell’s infrastructure, leaving them without clean water, unable to farm or fish, and facing serious health risks. Despite this, they say no proper clean-up has taken place and pollution continues with no resolution in sight.

If the villagers win at the full trial in 2026, it will be the first time a UK multinational has been found to have breached a community’s human rights due to environmental pollution.

The upcoming February hearing, presided over by Mrs Justice May, will be a ‘preliminary issues trial’ to determine the scope of the legal arguments for the full trial. It will focus on two key questions with significant implications for future environmental claims. Firstly, whether pollution caused by a private company can violate fundamental human rights under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as human rights claims have no limitation period, preventing Shell from arguing that the communities took too long to bring their case. Secondly, whether Shell can be held responsible for damage resulting from oil theft, known as “bunkering,” or illegal artisanal refining of spilled or stolen oil. Shell attributes much of the pollution to these activities, but the communities argue that Shell has failed to prevent the pollution caused by widespread oil theft.

Shell maintains that it has no legal responsibility for the pollution caused in the Niger Delta by its Nigerian subsidiary and has not provided any compensation to the affected communities. At the same time, Shell is attempting to sell off its onshore operations in Nigeria after more than 70 years of profit-making, without a clear plan to address the environmental devastation left behind.

The Bille and Ogale communities are represented by Leigh Day international team partners Daniel Leader and Matthew Renshaw, alongside a team of barristers from Fountain Court, Matrix, 2 Temple Gardens and Blackstone Chambers. Community representatives, King Okpabi and Chief Bennett, will attend the trial and are available for interviews on the impact of oil pollution on their communities. King Okpabi will be available for interviews outside the High Court on the first day of the trial before proceedings begin.

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