Save Nigeria movement decries Shell’s arrogance towards host communities
The Convener of Save Nigeria Movement, Pastor Solomon Semaka has decried the arrogance and contempt for host Communities by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited.
In a press statement released on Sunday 20th February, 2022, Pastor Semaka stated that the plight of the Egbalor Community, who are judgment creditors to Shell has remained unaddressed, in spite of all efforts made by his organization to highlight the looming crisis over the N800 billion (about $2 billion) judgment awarded against the company and its parent companies, Shell International Limited and Shell B.V. by a Federal High Court in Owerri.
The matter comes up before the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division on Thursday, 24th February 2022 for the hearing of several contentious applications including Shell’s application to stay execution of the judgment pending appeal, and the application by the lawyers representing the community, Ndarani (SAN) & Co. to halt the sale of Shell’s onshore and shallow offshore assets until the judgment debt is paid in full.
Pastor Semaka stated that all efforts to reach Mr. Osagie Okunbor, the Shell Nigeria Country Chairman and all the key officials of the company towards coming to a just resolution of the matter so that Shell will live up to their statutory obligations and respect court judgments as they do in their other areas of operation, have been rebuffed or met with stoic arrogance and contempt, a posture which has become the hallmark of Shells’s dealings with its host communities in Nigeria.
He restated the determination of his organization and a coalition of other Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria and their affiliates abroad to carry out coordinated protests in major Nigerian cities and in Shell’s Corporate offices in London and The Hague, to ensure that the Egbalor Community gets justice by the payment of the judgment debt and full restoration and remediation of the devastation caused by the massive oil spill from Shell’s production facilities.
