UK Supreme Court dismisses Shell oil spill case

The UK Supreme Court has thrown out a case against Shell over the 2011 oil spill at the Bonga oil field off the coast of Nigeria, on the grounds that “the legal time limit has been exceeded”.

Representatives of 27,800 Nigerians and 457 local communities living in the region took action to sue Shell after at least 40,000 barrels of oil leaked into the ocean during the transfer of at least 40,000 barrels of oil to the tanker on December 20, 2011 in the Bonga oil field. , approximately 120 kilometers off the coast of Nigeria.

‘TOO LATE TO OPEN A CASE’

The British Supreme Court, in its decision announced today, rejected the Nigerians’ request on the grounds that it was “too late” to file a lawsuit. The court declared that the legal term of 6 years to file a claim has been exceeded.

Furthermore, the court ruled that there was no ongoing problem and dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that “there are ongoing problems due to the oil spill and the oil has not been cleaned up.” (AA)