A Federal High Court in Uyo has dismissed a N54 billion lawsuit filed against Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, now known as SEPNU, over an alleged oil spill in 2014. The court ruled that the case was filed outside the time allowed by law.
The suit was brought by representatives of the Barracks, Nditia, and Okposo 2 communities, who sought compensation for environmental damage linked to the spill.
The court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the incident constituted a continuing injury, holding instead that the spill was a one-time event that occurred in 2014 and could not be revisited more than a decade later.
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It ruled that the limitation period began in 2014, making the 2026 filing statute-barred, and agreed with the defence that lingering environmental effects did not extend the legal timeframe for initiating the case.
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