Rivers Community Seeks Court’s Order to Imprison Shell’s MD, Others over N800bn Judgment Debt

Alex Enumah

Members of the Ejalawa Community in Oken­ Ogosu Swamp farmlands in Egbalor, Ebubu/Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, have approached the Owerri Division of the Court of Appeal for an Order of committal to prison of the Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and country Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Shell Petroleum Developing Company of Nigeria; Mr. Osagie  Okunbor over alleged disobedience of the orders of the Court.

Shell and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had approached the Court of Appeal to reverse the judgment of a trial court that ordered them to pay the sum of over N800 billion as compensation to the communities for devastation caused the community as a result of oil spillage.

But the appellate court, however, in its judgment delivered on March 11, 2022, ordered Shell to deposit the said judgment sum into the interest yielding account of the Court of Appeal within 48 hours of the judgment.

The order expired on Tuesday March 15, 2022, without the appellants complying with the order of the appellate court.

Miffed by the refusal of Shell to obey the orders of court, the community has approached the court for an order seeking the committal of the MD and three others to prison.

They are: Shell’s Country Legal Counsel, Mrs. Keibi Atemie; Shell Africa/ Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Head of Corporate Litigation, Ikechukwu Ekwueme and Shell’s Finance Director, Mr. Jan Van Bunnik.

The plaintiffs, Chief Isaac Torchi and 87 on behalf of themselves and the Ejalawa Community in the originating summons filed by their lawyers led by Ndarani Mohammed, SAN, are specifically asking the court for an order “committing”  Okunbor, Atemie, Ekwueme and Bunnik, 1st to 4th Contemnor, respectively “to prison for contempt for disobeying the Orders of this Court made on March 11, 2022”.

In addition, they prayed for another order compelling the four Contemnors, to deposit their respective international passports with the Court to restrain them from evading or escaping contempt proceedings.

The Judgment Creditors/Respondent/Applicants had on November 27 ,2020 secured judgment in the sum of N800 billion at the lower court against the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Shell International Exploration and Petroleum BV who are now 1st, 2nd 4th appellants and 2 respondent in Appeal No: CA/OW/489/20 pending before the court.

The four Contemnors are the principal officers of Shell and the two respondent in Appeal NO:CA/OW/489/2020 and till date are yet to comply with the judgment of the court of 27/11/2020 at the lower court by paying the said Judgment sum to the 1st to 88th judgment creditors/respondents/applicants accordingly.

The judgment creditors/respondents/applicants on realizing that the appellants and the two respondents in appeal NO:CA/OW/489/2020 were not in a hurry to comply with the judgment of the lower court approached the appellate court with their application of January, 15, 2021 and January 25, 2022 respectively, of which the court heard and subsequently delivered its ruling on the said applications on March 11, 2022.

The plaintiff further stated that: “The four contemnors who are principal officers of the appellants and the 2nd respondents in Appeal NO:CA/OW/489/20 and whose interests were fully represented by their counsel on March 11, 2022 when the ruling on the applications of the judgment creditors/respondent /applicants was delivered have vehemently refused to comply with the said ruling of court”.

They submitted that:”The ruling of 11/3/2022 specifically ordered the appellants and the 2nd respondent in Appeal NO; CA/OW/489/20 to within 48hours pay the said Judgment sum N800,001,000,000 only into the Escrow interest yielding account of this honorable court, to be opened by the Deputy Chief Registrar of this court, pending the hearing and determination of the Appeal NO:CA/OW/489/2020 before this court against the said Judgment”.

While they noted that Shell being dissatisfied with the ruling of the court delivered on 11/3/2022 filled a motion for Stay of Execution dated 14/03/2022 at the Court of Appeal, but that the Record of Appeal is yet to be transmitted and the appeal is yet to be entered at The Supreme Court.

“By Virtue of Order 4 Rule 6(b) of The Court of Appeal Rules, 2021, this Court has the power to order  the judgment sum to be paid into an interest yielding account in the name of the Chief Registrar or Deputy Chief Registrar of the court.

“Also, by virtue of Section 72 Sheriffs and Civil Process Act and Order Ix Rules (1) & (2) of the Judgment Enforcement Rules, this court has the mandatory power to order for the Judgment Sum to be paid into an interest yielding court bank account, pending the determination of the Appeal.

“By virtues of the ruling of this Court delivered on March 11, 2022, the 1st appellant/respondent and the 2nd espondent, who were expected to comply with the said ruling have vehemently refused to obey and comply with the said order of court”, the plaintiffs submitted.

They argued that the appellants and the 2nd respondent in Appeal NO; CA/OW/489/2020 are expected to honor this court and the course of justice by first complying with the order of this court made on 11/3/2020 before any application for stay could be entertained in this court.

They further argued that the four Contemnors who are principal officers of Shell and Shell BV have the responsibility of making sure Shell obey and comply with the mandatory order of the court given on 11/3/2022 since the said order is certain and unambiguous as to what they have been ordered to do.

“The contemnors already have sufficient prior notice of the terms of the ruling and the mandatory order of the court given on 11/3/2022 which the judgment creditor/respondents/applicants said they have disobeyed /refuse to comply with,”the plaintiffs stated.

Adding that, “ the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Contemnors have each been served personally with forms 48 and 49 enclosed with the court order of  March 11,2020 but instead of obeying the court order have actively assisted in the breach of the said order “since they willfully failed to take steps to ensure that the court order of March 11, 2022 is obeyed.

The Owerri Division of the Court of Appeal while ruling in a motion for stay of execution filed by SPDC and Shell International Exploration and Product BV, ordered them to deposit the judgment sum into the interest yielding account of the Court of Appeal within 48 hours of the judgment.

The appellate court in the unanimous decision delivered by Justice Rita Pemu, further ordered the them not to dispose of any of their assets both onshore and offshore within and outside Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.

The appellants had approached the Court of Appeal with the view of upturning a judgment of a Federal High Court, Owerri, which had found them guilty of polluting farmlands as well as rivers and other surroundings in Ejalawa Community in Oken-Ogosu, Egbalor Ebubu/Eleme Local Government of Rivers State.

Justice T.G. Ringim of the Owerri Division of the Federal High Court, had in November 2020, ordered Shell to pay the sum of N800 billion to members of Ejalawa Community being compensation for damages to their farmland and other destruction cause by Oil Spillage from the activities of Shell in the area on September 18, 2019.

However, Shell in the appeals marked: CA/W/498/20 and CA/OW/490/20 respectively, also applied for a stay of execution of the judgment of the trial court.

By the ruling, Shell has up to Tuesday March 15, 2022 to comply with the order for the Court of Appeal to stay the execution of the trial court’s judgment.

Chief Isaac Torchi and 87 others had dragged shell Petroleum Development Company Limited, Shell International Company Limited, Shell International Exploration and Production BV, Attorney General of the Federation and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over claims of oil spillage which destroyed their environment including their source of livelihood.

Delivering judgment in the suit, the court found Shell culpable and also held that the plaintiffs are entitled to compensation in the sum of N800 billion for their farm products, fish ponds, several fish farms, fish nets, machineries, non-cleansing and non-maintenance of ruptured pipes of the and 3rd Defendants that caused irreparable damages to the Plaintiffs several farmlands, hydrocarbon oil spillage or oil spillage, that occurred on 18″ September, 2019 and affected several farmlands of the Plaintiffs 2,390 hectares of farmlands at Ejalawa Community in Oken­ Ogosu Swamp farmlands in Egbalor of Ebubu/Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Justice Ringim also ordered Shell to promptly and expeditiously remediate the land of the Plaintiffs to its International Agricultural Soil (IAS).

The Court also ordered Shell to depollute and rehabilitate the farms and more particularly the fish ponds in the communities.

The Court also awarded the cost of One Million Naira (N1,000,000.00) in favour of the Communities as cost of action against the defendants.