After cross fire legal arguments, Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos will today, rule on the garnishee proceedings filed by some Ogoni chiefs from Ejama community in Rivers State against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and First Bank of Nigeria Limited for their failure to pay a N122 billion judgment debt against Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SDPC).
Besides, ruling will also be given on whether to jail the Chairman of First Bank, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, for failing to pay the amount as ordered by a Federal High Court in Owerri, Imo State. Justice Buba had fixed today’s date after hearing all the applications filed by the different parties in the suit last Friday. In the substantive suit, the Ogoni chiefs had sued the Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Netherlands; Royal Dutch Shell Plc, United Kingdom and SPDC over alleged oil spills that occurred when Shell operated in the community at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt. Justice Buba had in his judgment in 2010 awarded N17 billion to the representatives of the Ogoni people. The court equally granted the Ogoni chiefs 25 per cent interest charge on the principal sum of about N17 billion.
