A right activist, Anderson Achilike, has filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja, praying for an order compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, to investigate the true quantity of crude oil exported by Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited, from January 1, 2001 to August 31, 2019.In an affidavit he filed in support of the suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/1123/2019, the plaintiff alleged that Shell “is principally involved in the inducement of various acts of vandalism and disruption in order to facilitate the stealing of Nigeria’s crude oil by deliberate collusion with third parties as a cover-up for its fraud of non-remittance and under-declaration of crude oil exportation and shipment, which has resulted in loss of revenue to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
He accused the oil giant of, among others, instigation of acts of pipeline vandalism, oil theft, third-party interference in trunk line operations and incessant cases of fire outbreak.
He said he filed the action, through his lawyer, Obed Agu, “as a matter of urgent national importance to address the dwindling economic fortunes of the country from acts capable of undermining the future of Nigeria.”
Among other prayers, the plaintiff urged the court for “an order directing and compelling the 3rd defendant (EFCC), as a designated financial intelligence unit in Nigeria, acting with or through the 2nd defendant (AGF) and/or other security agencies, to carry out an investigation of the 1st defendant (Shell) over cases of non-remittance and under-declaration of crude oil exportation and shipment, third-party interference in its trunk line operations, incessant cases of fire outbreak, repeated incidents of sabotage or other suspicious activities or occurrences at its Forcados and Bonny Oil Terminals and Bonga FSPO (floating production, storage and offloading) vessel, which have resulted in loss of revenue, continuous oil theft, monumental shortfall in crude oil production, poor economic revenue, pipeline vandalism, disruption of oil production, destruction of oil installation and economic sabotage in Nigeria.”
He sought “an order directing and compelling the 3rd defendant to carry out a quantitative investigation of the amount or quantity of crude oil coming into or supplied to and exported from the SHELL‘s Forcados and Bonny Oil Terminals and Bonga FSPO (floating production, storage and offloading) vessel as well as the amount or quantity of crude oil, claimed to have been or supposed to have been, exported from the said terminals from January 1, 2001 to August 31, 2019.”
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