The High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division in London, has wrapped up proceedings in a £55 million legal battle against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), over environmental damage from two major oil spills.
The matter—registered as Case No: HT-2013-000028—arises from twin spills that occurred in 2008 in the Bodo community, situated in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. The incidents, involving nearly 500,000 barrels of crude oil, originated from the Bomu-Bonny Trans-Niger Pipeline, operated by SPDC, according to Leigh Day, the UK-based legal firm representing the plaintiffs.
Presiding Judge, Justice O’Farrell, heard final submissions on June 16 and 17 and has reserved her ruling. A final decision is expected within approximately three months.
The two additional days were granted after the parties were unable to conclude arguments over 13 days in May, during which both sides called 10 witnesses, including scientists from the United Nations, financial experts and Nigerian law experts.
A June 19, 2025 press release by Leigh Day quoted the Paramount Ruler of the Bodo Community, King John Bari-Iyiedum Berebon, as saying, “More than 17 years after these devastating oil spills took place, we hope and trust that justice will finally be delivered by the High Court and a full and thorough clean-up will be carried out.”
The monarch says “the horrendous oil pollution” in and around Bodo has “destroyed our environment and ruined our livelihoods.
“Unless a full and thorough clean-up is ordered by the court, the lives of our people are set to be blighted for generations to come.”
In January, SPDC completed the transfer of its mining licence to Nigerian consortium Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings in a $2.4bn deal.
Leigh Day solicitor, Alex Wessely, says the trial heard evidence from Shell/Renaissance’s own witness that “these oil spills are by far the largest to have ever occurred worldwide and have had a devastating impact on the local environment and the people of Bodo.”
“Our clients believe Shell/Renaissance has failed to properly clean up these devastating oil spills, putting the health of more than 30,000 people in the Bodo area, including many children, at severe and ongoing risk,” he said.
The case, which was initially mediated by the Dutch government in 2013, returned to court in May this year after the Bodo community, represented by King Berebon and 14 others, disputed the quality of the clean-up undertaken by SPDC.
Justice O’Farrell had in a February 2024 ruling granted the Bodo community’s request for the case to proceed to trial. The court dismissed SPDC’s objection to the request.
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According to court documents, Shell admitted liability for the 2008 spills and, in 2014, agreed to fund cleanup efforts as part of a £55m settlement with the Bodo community.
In March 2013, the Dutch government introduced the Bodo Mediation Initiative (BMI) as a voluntary alternative dispute resolution mechanism to encourage dialogue and agreement between the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and the Bodo community regarding environmental remediation efforts.
Initially led by Bert J. Ronhaar, a former Dutch ambassador to Nigeria, the BMI played a pivotal role in helping both parties reach a negotiated settlement in December 2014. The outcome included a £55 million compensation package—allocated both to the broader community and around 15,000 individual claimants affected by the 2008 oil spills.
Subsequently, on April 30, 2015, SPDC and community representatives formalized their agreement by signing a Memorandum of Understanding. Under its terms, SPDC committed to financing a comprehensive cleanup, remediation, and ecological restoration of the impacted areas within Bodo.