The Federal High Court sitting in Uyo has dismissed a ₦54 billion representative lawsuit filed over a 2014 oil spill, ruling that the case was filed outside the legal time limit.
The suit was brought by representatives of Barracks, Nditia and Okposo 2 communities against Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, now known as SEPNU.
Claimants argued that the environmental damage from the spill amounted to a continuing injury and should therefore escape the statute of limitations.
The court disagreed and struck out the case, holding that the spill was a single completed act whose legal timeline began in 2014.
At the centre of the decision was an argument by Mobil’s counsel, Ms Abasiemediong Etuk, who urged the court to distinguish between a continuing injury and the continuing effect of an injury. She maintained that a continuing injury requires repeated wrongdoing, which was not present in this case.
“While the effects of the spill might persist, the cause of action remains fixed to the date the spill occurred,” Etuk argued, noting that because the alleged wrongful act was completed in 2014, the exception of continuing injury did not apply.
The judge agreed, stating that the alleged spill was not a continuous act but a completed one with residual consequences. As a result, the limitation period ran from the date of the incident, making the 2026 filing statute-barred.
The court has raised the threshold for future oil spill claims seeking to rely on the continuing injury doctrine, by separating the act from its long-term effects.
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