Lagos — The Council of Ethnic Youth Leaders of Nigeria has filed a suit at the Federal High Court Abuja against Shell Petroleum Development Company over alleged missing N5trn oil revenue.
The group, in the suit, alleged that Nigeria has lost huge revenue due to what it described as “illicit activities of Shell at the Forcados and Bonny terminals to the tune of N5trn.”
Convener of the group, Mr. Tochukwu Ohazurike, suing as plaintiff, also joined the Federal Government as first defendant.
Ohazurike wants the court to declare that the legal interest, ownership and control of all hydrocarbon, including petroleum products in, under and upon the land in Nigeria is invested in the Federal Government; and by virtue of which it can appropriate, use or in any other manner whatsoever exercise or demonstrate incidents of ownership or control thereof.
“A declaration that based on the declining remittance and/or under-declaration of earnings or revenue from crude oil exploration, production, exportation and shipment by Shell from its Forcados and Bonny Terminals, occasioned by acts of economic sabotage against Nigeria, the Federal Government as a sovereign entity has a duty to nationalise or take over Shell’s investment or interest in or over the Forcados and Bonny Terminals on grounds of public purpose.’
The plaintiff is also asking for an order compelling and directing the Federal Government to nationalise or take over the investment or interest of Shell in or over the Forcados and Bonny Terminals.
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He said this was on grounds of public purpose and national interest as a measure of curbing the economic sabotage of loss of revenue, non-remittance and under-declaration of the crude oil export or shipment from the Forcados and Bonny export terminals.
Alternatively, the plaintiff is praying for an order compelling and directing the Federal Government to duly regulate or in any other manner, exercise appropriate sovereign control over the operations of Shell.
This, he said, was with a view to curbing the economic sabotage of the accruable revenue to Nigeria from crude on export or shipment from the Forcados and Bonny export terminals.
It will be recalled that an environmental activist, Mr. Anderson Achilike, had, on September 25, filed similar charges against Shell.
Achilike had asked the court to order the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe the activities of Shell.
The matter has yet to be assigned to a judge.
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- NAN
