Shell Petroleum
Development Company, SPDC, has arrested the judgment in the suit by
Ejama community, an Ogoni community in Rivers State, against it (SPDC)
and First Bank Limited before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos over
their alleged failure to pay N122 billion judgment debt to the
community as ordered by a Federal High Court.
Trial judge,
Justice Ibrahim Buba, was to have, yesterday, delivered judgment in the
contempt proceeding initiated against First Bank over its alleged
refusal to honour the bank guarantee it provided on behalf of Shell and
the garnishee order nisi made by an Owerri division of the Federal High
Court in respect of the bank guarantee.
But, Mr Chucks
Igbenedion, one of Ejama community's counsel, drew the attention of the
court to the matter and Justice Buba noted that he had communicated to
counsel that Shell had filed a fresh motion, which effectively arrested
the judgment, but promised that same would be heard on Friday and
judgment delivered.
In the substantive
suit, 10 indigenes of Ejama community in Ogoniland, Rivers State, had
sued Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Netherlands, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, United
Kingdom and SPDC, over oil spills that occurred when Shell operated in
the community at the Port Harcourt Division of the court.
Justice Buba, then
of the Port Harcourt Division of the court, had in his judgment in 2010,
awarded N17 billion to the representatives of the Ogoni people.
The court equally granted the Ogoni chiefs 25 per cent interest charge on the principal sum of about N17 billion.
SPDC then appealed the judgment and applied for a stay of execution of the judgment pending the appeal.
As a condition for
granting the stay of execution, the court required Shell's bankers,
First Bank to provide a guarantee of the judgment sum.
The community
meanwhile, stated that by its calculation and computation of 25 per cent
interest charge on the principal sum of about N17 billion, carried out
by a chartered accountant, what was due to them is N122 billion.
This figure was however, disputed by First Bank and Shell.
Last week, Ogoni's
lawyer, Mr Lucius Nwosu, SAN, counsel to First Bank, Chief Wole
Olanipekun, SAN, counsel to Shell all argued their respective
applications, with the Ejama community urging the court to send the Bank
and its Chairman to prison for contempt and uphold the garnishee order
nisi, while the Bank, prayed the court to dismiss the contempt
proceeding and also vacate the garnishee order nisi, arguing that the
court had no jurisdiction to make same.