A landlord of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in Bonny, Rivers State, Se-Alabo Dan-Jumbo has accused the oil giant of “illegally” divesting its assets without the consent of the host communities. He has threatened to file a $5 billion lawsuit in the United Kingdom if Shell fails to address its obligations.
In a letter to Shell’s CEO, Wael Sawan, Dan-Jumbo, who serves as the Chief and Head of the Dan-Jumbo House of Bonny Kingdom, criticized the company’s recent $2.4 billion asset sale to Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings. The Dan-Jumbo Chieftaincy House, along with the Jumbo Major House and John-Jumbo House, form the Jumbo group of houses, co-landlords with the Brown House of Bonny Kingdom to SPDC.
The disputed divested asset is Shell’s Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal (BOGT), which stores crude oil produced across the country and serves as the export terminal for Bonny Light crude. Dan-Jumbo contended that Shell’s divestment violated Clause 2.3 of the 1958 Bonny Terminal Agreement, which mandates the consent of the Jumbo House and Brown House before any land lease transfers.
“It is evident that you obtained the consent and approval of Nigeria’s oil minister, but did you obtain the consent of the Lessors – Jumbo House and Brown House of Bonny Kingdom before proceeding with the sale of your assets?” Dan-Jumbo asked.
He also accused Shell of causing severe environmental damage, stating that over 60 years of oil exploration had made Bonny’s land and waters uninhabitable. “The pollution from over six decades of oil exploration has made our rivers undrinkable and our waters unfit for fishing,” he said.
To resolve the issue, Se-Alabo Dan-Jumbo demanded that Shell immediately organize a meeting with Renaissance, the landlords (Jumbo and Brown Houses), the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom, and the Bonny Chiefs Council to renegotiate the 1958 lease agreement. He also called for Shell to publicly outline its environmental liabilities and clean-up plans before exiting.
“The families who leased the land in 1958 did not foresee this sale. Had they known, they may not have agreed to the terms they did,” he remarked, adding that any exit plan should include comprehensive environmental remediation.
Dan-Jumbo warned that failure to comply within 14 days would compel Bonny Kingdom to take legal action in the UK, where Shell is headquartered. The letter was also sent to global institutions and government agencies, including the United Nations, the British Parliament, Greenpeace, and the Nigerian government, signaling a potential escalation of the dispute.
Shell has yet to publicly respond to the allegations, although Dan-Jumbo confirmed that the company had received the letter at its UK office.
