Overview
A significant judicial pronouncement was delivered on April 29, 2026, by the Federal High Court, Uyo, with far-reaching implications for Nigeria's energy sector. The Hon.
Justice Onyetenu dismissed a โฆ๐ฑ๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ brought by Ejige Ore Njenyisi Muma & Fishing Co-operative Society Ltd against ExxonMobil (sued as Mobil Producing Nigeria, now Seplat Energy) over an alleged hydrocarbon release of September 12, 2021. ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐: โข No Legally Recognisable Violation: The Plaintiff failed to disclose any violation of rights by Mobil. โข JIV Report Decisive: The Joint Investigation Visit report tendered by the Plaintiffs themselves established that the incident was confined to Mobil's operational facility with no adverse impact on the Co-operative Society's members or livelihood. โข Jurisdictional Failure: The Plaintiffs' attempt to frame the action under common-law negligence and nuisance, rather than the statutory compensation regime, was found incompetent.
Notably, the Court reaffirmed the mandatory precondition under Section 11(5) of the Oil Pipelines Act, which requires that claims of this nature be pursued exclusively through the statutory compensation framework. The consequence of non-compliance was fatal: the suit was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐: โข Claimants cannot bypass the Oil Pipelines Act by repackaging claims as tort actions. โข The JIV report remains a critical evidentiary tool in establishing impact or its absence. โข Jurisdictional compliance is non-negotiable, failure to follow Section 11(5) closes the courthouse doors. This ruling provides welcome clarity for operators and reinforces the sanctity of statutory procedures in Nigeria's oil and gas litigation landscape.
ExxonMobil was represented by KENNA's Daze Nga, LL. M, MCArb and Chinonso Ekuma.
