More communities are seeking to join the suit to halt the OML 29 lease pending before the Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa over the abdication of social obligations to host communities.
When the case came up for hearing on Thursday, May 16, the trial judge, Awogboro Abimbola, adjourned the case till June 24 to hear the applications of the other communities within the OML 29 area seeking to join the suit.
The applicants representing the host communities of Nembe in Bayelsa State are asking the court to halt the lease of OML 29 to Aiteo Exploration and Production Limited.
The development is as a result of plans by the Minister of Petroleum Resources to renew the lease of OML 29 oil bloc to Aiteo for $82 million without regard to the position of the community in Suit No. FHC/YNG/CS/62/2015.
With the present lease ending on June 30, the applicants told the court that Aiteo had already made payments totalling $82 million to the Department of Petroleum Resources for the renewal of the oil mining licence.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to the plaintiffs, Iniruo Wills reported that some progress had been made in the out of court settlement and required an adjournment for further discussions between the parties.
Wills also informed the court that the plaintiffs would also use the period of the adjournment to study the applications of the other communities that are seeking to join the suit.
Wills stated: “Between March and now, we have made some progress at settling out of court and we will require a short adjournment to be able to update the court on the outcome of ongoing talks amongst the parties.
“Also we have been served with batteries of applications by several groups seeking to be joined in the suit, the adjournment will enable us to study them.”
In 2015, Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) divested its equity in OML 29 and transferred its interest in the oil bloc, including NCTL to Aiteo for $1.7 billion, but the host communities said the divestment was done “without resolving the untold negative impact of their operations on the people.”
The plaintiffs are Ikaonaworio Eferebo-Igoma, Iyerite Chiefson Awululu-Atubu, Ayebaesin Edoghotu-Omoh, Markson Amaegbe-Orutari, B.C. Benwari-Yousuo and Doibo Evans representing OML 29 host communities.
The defendants are Attorney-General of the Federation, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Federal Ministry of Environment and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.
Others are Aiteo Exploration and Production, Attorney-General of Bayelsa State and The Deeds Registrar, Bayelsa State Ministry of Lands.
