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Court jails Shell MD, two others for contempt

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Court jails Shell MD, two others for contempt

The Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Osagie Okunbor, and two other top officials of the oil firm were yesterday sentenced to three months in prison with hard labour for contempt by a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

The two other top-ranking officials of the oil company are the company’s Secretary and Head of Legal Department, Nike Onyilola, and Deputy Country Head of Legal/Managing Counsel, Global Litigation, Sub-Sahara Africa, Keibi Atemie.

In his ruling, the presiding judge, Justice George Omereji, said the trio were convicted for failing to obey a court order in 2008 instructing them to forfeit land where Bonny Crude Oil terminal was located.

The property was said to belong to the Jumbo Major House of Bonny and the Brown House of Finima in the Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.

It was reported that the Jumbo Major House and Brown House, who are all landlords to Shell in the area, had complained about the tenancy and compensation for their land.

Justice Margaret Opara of the Rivers State High Court had in 2008 ruled that SPDC should give up the Bonny terminal for violating the terms of tenancy and secretly obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy from the then government of Rivers State for the land.

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After the ruling in 2008, Shell had appealed the case at both the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court but lost eventually.

Justice Omereji directed the Nigerian Police Force and other law enforcement to effect immediate arrest of the Shell officials who were absent in court and send them to prison.

In his reaction, the spokesperson for the oil company, Bamidele Odugbesan, stated that Shell did not accept that it disobeyed any court order and had appealed the judgement.

“We do not accept that SPDC disobeyed any lawful order of court and have accordingly appealed this judgement. The SPDC has utmost respect for the courts and the laws of Nigeria,” he said

 

 

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