- The UK High Court has wrapped up hearings in a £55m lawsuit over Shell’s 2008 oil spills in Bodo, Nigeria.
- The Bodo community claims Shell failed to fully clean up the spills, which damaged livelihoods and impacted over 30,000 residents.
The High Court of Justice in London has finished hearings in the £55 million oil spill lawsuit against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).
The case, listed as HT-2013-000028, arose from two major oil spills in 2008 in the Bodo community, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Leigh Day, the London-based law firm representing the claimants, said the spills released nearly 500,000 barrels of oil. The spills came from the Bomu-Bonny Trans-Niger Pipeline, operated by SPDC.
Justice O’Farrell heard final arguments on June 16 and 17. She has reserved her judgment, which could take up to three months.
Earlier, the court added two extra hearing days after the parties failed to finish arguments during 13 days in May. Both sides presented 10 witnesses during those sessions, including UN scientists, financial analysts, and Nigerian legal experts.
Furthermore, in a press release on June 19, 2025, the Paramount Ruler of Bodo, King John Bari-Iyiedum Berebon, urged the court to ensure justice. He said the community had waited more than 17 years for a proper cleanup.
The king also added that the oil spills destroyed the environment and ruined local livelihoods. He warned that without complete restoration, future generations in Bodo would suffer.
Recall that SPDC transferred its mining licence to Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings, a Nigerian group, in a $2.4 billion deal in January.
Leigh Day solicitor Alex Wessely said the trial showed the scale of the disaster. He quoted a Shell/Renaissance witness who admitted the Bodo spills were “by far the largest to have ever occurred worldwide.”
Wessely also added that Shell and Renaissance failed to clean up properly, putting over 30,000 people, many of them children, at risk.
The Dutch government originally mediated the case in 2013 through the Bodo Mediation Initiative. Bert J. Ronhaar, a former Dutch ambassador to Nigeria, led the process.
In December 2014, both sides agreed to a mediated settlement. Shell accepted responsibility for the spills and agreed to pay £55 million, compensating the community and about 15,000 individuals.
On April 30, 2015, SPDC and Bodo signed a Memorandum of Understanding. In it, SPDC committed to fund cleanup, remediation, and restoration of specific areas in Bodo.
However, in 2024, the Bodo community challenged the quality of that cleanup. The High Court allowed the case to trial, rejecting SPDC’s objection. The community awaits the final ruling, hoping for lasting environmental justice.