Federal High Court dismisses NOSDRA oil spill suit, ruling fishermen lacked legal standing over unreported pipeline incidents.

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, presided over by Hon. Justice E.A. Obile, has struck out a suit filed against the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), declaring the action as lacking merit.

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The suit, filed in 2018 under reference FHC/ABJ/CS/1045/2018, was instituted by representatives of 998 fishermen and women from Yayo-Ama village in Bolo community, Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The plaintiffs sought to compel NOSDRA to take action on two alleged oil spills reported in 2008 and 2009 at the Bolo-West oil fields, which they claimed were caused by equipment failure on Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria’s 24-inch Bomu–Bonny Trans-Nigeria pipeline.

NOSDRA stated that although the case was initially filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, it was later transferred to the Port Harcourt Division.

The court found that the plaintiffs had not presented evidence showing that Shell had reported the spills to NOSDRA in line with Section 6(2) of the NOSDRA (Establishment) Act, 2006.

The judgment further highlighted that since the alleged spiller had not been fined by NOSDRA under Section 6(3) of the Act, the plaintiffs lacked legal standing (locus standi) to initiate the case.

Consequently, the suit was dismissed in its entirety.

In its ruling, the court underscored the statutory obligation of oil operators to report all spills to NOSDRA within 24 hours, a requirement designed to ensure prompt detection, rapid response, and effective mitigation of environmental harm.

Non-compliance carries an automatic penalty of ₦500,000 per day.

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NOSDRA emphasised that the judgment reinforces regulatory authority, strengthens corporate accountability, and supports environmental protection in the Niger Delta, sending a clear message to operators on the importance of transparency and adherence to environmental laws.