The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Monday struck out a preliminary objection filed by Aiteo in a suit instituted by the Opu Nembe Kingdom over oil spills that impacted the community.

The objection was brought by the company on grounds that the community had misspelt its name in the suit as Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd instead of Aiteo Eastern E & P Company Ltd.

But delivering his ruling on Monday in Yenagoa, Justice Emmanuel Ayo of the Federal High Court upheld the plaintiffs’ responses to the notice of preliminary objection and consequently struck out the objection filed by the defendant.

The court held that it could not allow technicalities to defeat the substance of the suit, especially as the plaintiffs had already filed a motion seeking to regularise the defendant’s name.

The matter was subsequently adjourned to April 16, 2026, for ruling on the motion seeking amendment of the defendant’s name.

Reacting to the ruling, counsel to the Opu Nembe Kingdom, Barrister Chigozie Inwere, told journalists that the decision had rekindled hope in the justice system.

He added: “In environmental matters, lawyers representing oil companies often leave the substance of the suit and hold on to technicalities, while communities live with the dark consequences of oil production for years.”

Inwere also disclosed that during the post-spill impact assessment conducted by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, the regulatory body directed Aiteo to pay an initial sum of N4.7 billion for damage arising from the spills which occurred over six years ago, but the company has refused to comply.

He, therefore, expressed hope that the community, having waited peacefully for so long due to delays based on legal technicalities, can now see the commencement of the substantive hearing of its case.

Recall that Shell Petroleum Development Company had in 2015 sold its OML 29 oil bloc to Aiteo, which currently operates in the area covering Opu Nembe and the neighbouring Otuabagi community where the legacy Oloibiri oil wells are located.

The suit arose from three oil spills — two that occurred in September and October 2019 along the Botokiri axis of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line and at the Santa Barbara Well 1 respectively, and another in May 2020 at Well 9 in the Odeama Creek Oil Field, all of which the community said heavily impacted the environment and led to loss of livelihoods, amongst other damages.

Consequently, on August 15, 2024, the Opu Nembe Kingdom, through King Iyerite Chiefson Awululu Atubu, Chief Dr. Ikaonaworio Eferebo-Igoma, Chief Dr. Markson Amaegbe-Tamuno and Mr. Doibo Evans, approached the court seeking environmental justice and remediation.

In the suit marked FHC/YN/CS/284/2024, the community, through its lead counsel, Mr. Iniruo Wills of Ntephe Smith and Wills, is asking the court, among other reliefs, to declare that the massive spills resulted from operational failure and negligence by the oil company.

The plaintiffs contend that the company’s lack of adequate pollution and hazard prevention and management systems, as well as its failure to replace corroded pipelines, led to the spills, which severely impacted the environment and destroyed the community’s means of livelihood.

They are also asking the court to order Aiteo to undertake a comprehensive clean-up and remediation programme to be executed by competent independent experts.

Additionally, the community is seeking the payment of N122,629,197,586, being the monetary value assessed by estate valuers engaged by the community during a post-spill assessment, and N10 billion as exemplary damages.

However, in the originating processes, the defendant was sued as Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited instead of Aiteo E & P Company Limited, prompting the plaintiffs to file a motion before the court to regularise the name.

Relying on that, the company, instead of responding to the substantive suit, filed a notice of preliminary objection on May 16, 2025, arguing that the community’s action was flawed on the ground that the name used referred to an entity not known to the law.

The company also argued that the suit was statute-barred under Section 16 of the Limitation Law of Bayelsa State and the relevant provisions of the Oil Pipelines Act, thereby questioning the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter.

Responding to the preliminary objection on May 29, 2025, the community’s lawyer, Chigozie Inwere of Ntephe Smith and Wills, argued that the defendant’s name as stated in the writ of summons only amounted to a misnomer, which is a mere irregularity that can be corrected by order of court pursuant to Order 9 Rule 6 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, and therefore could not invalidate the entire suit or rob the court of jurisdiction.

The plaintiffs’ counsel further informed the court that the defendant officially changed its name on March 4, 2025, from Aiteo Eastern E & P Company Limited to Nembe Exploration and Production Company Limited, noting that it remained the same legal entity and that the court possessed the powers to correct the misnomer.

On the issue of limitation, the plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the Limitation Law of Bayelsa State does not apply to matters arising under the Oil Pipelines Act, which is a federal statute on the Exclusive Legislative List, and therefore cannot be overridden by state legislation.

They also cited several authorities in support of their argument that the suit was instituted in accordance with the provisions of the Oil Pipelines Act, particularly Section 11(5), which allows parties to approach the court where damages caused remain unresolved in the event of a dispute as to the quantum of damages.