Prominent 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 united in a common cause have backed Bayelsa monarch, King Bubaraye Dakolo, in his landmark lawsuit against oil giant Shell.

The monarch is demanding $12 billion in compensation for decades of environmental damage allegedly caused by Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta.

The coalition, at a press conference, on Tuesday, demanded justice for oil and gas bearing communities of the Niger Delta, who have endured over six decades of pollution, exploitation, and neglect.

In his statement, Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, stated that “the Niger Delta cannot be a sacrificial zone for fossil fuel greed.”

According to Bassey, the lawsuit is not just about a community asserting its rights, but about resisting annihilation.

“True justice must begin with the recognition that the environment is not a passive backdrop; it is life itself,” he emphasised.

Bassey called for a just transition that starts with healing the wounds of exploitation, ensuring that polluters pay up, clean up, and restore what they have destroyed.

He noted that the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC) report revealed that Shell’s legacy in the Niger Delta is one of “death zones, toxic exposure, loss of livelihoods, and denial of dignity”.

Bassey cited the report’s findings, which highlight the severe environmental and health impacts of oil extraction in the region, emphasising that the Niger Delta region has been treated as a sacrificial zone since the 1950s, with extreme negative impacts on the environment and local communities.

However, he urged the Nigerian state and the international community to reject Shell’s attempts to escape justice and affirm that environmental crimes must be met with uncompromising accountability.

“We stand in unwavering solidarity with His Royal Majesty King Bubaraye Dakolo and the people of Ekpetiama,” he declared.

Dr. Prince Edegbue of Social Action Nigeria added that this case marks a watershed moment for accountability and redress in the Niger Delta. “We must redefine what energy transition means for those who have borne the costs of extraction,” he said.

King Dakolo emphasised that Shell wants to leave behind a mess that has ruined rivers, farmlands, and livelihoods. “We say no. We demand justice. This lawsuit is a cry for recognition, reparation, and restoration,” he declared.

Barister Chuks Uguru, Lead Counsel for the plaintiffs, stated that Shell seeks to relinquish its assets and exit its decades-long operations in the region without addressing its environmental liabilities, thereby violating Nigerian environmental laws and international standards.

“We trust that the Federal High Court will act to uphold justice, enforce the rule of law, and protect the rights of the people of Ekpetiama and the entire Niger Delta,” he said.

The plaintiffs, led by King Dakolo, are seeking a judicial declaration that Shell’s purported divestment from onshore assets in the Niger Delta violates Nigerian law, including the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) and relevant constitutional provisions protecting the right to life, human dignity, and a clean and healthy environment.

The suit claims that Shell and its corporate affiliates have caused catastrophic environmental damage, destroyed livelihoods, and harmed the health of community members through unremediated oil spills, gas flaring, and the abandonment of toxic infrastructure in the Gbarain oil fields, located within the Ekpetiama Kingdom.

It said Shell’s proposed sale of its 30 per cent stake in SPDC to Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd. and other buyers is being conducted without fulfilling its legal obligations to decommission facilities, restore impacted sites, and compensate affected communities.

The suit said that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and other state actors have failed in their statutory duties to protect host communities, and instead facilitated a divestment process that shifts environmental and financial liabilities onto the Nigerian state and its people, rather than making the polluter pay.

Also, the plaintiffs are asking the court for a declaration that the divestment is unlawful, an injunction restraining Shell and its successors from finalising the transaction until legal obligations are met, and an order compelling the government and regulatory agencies to fulfil their constitutional responsibilities to uphold environmental and human rights.