Judge's Absence Stalls $470m Suit Against Shell, Agip
A Federal High Court, Lagos has adjourned hearing in the
$406.8 million suit filed by the Federal Government against Shell Western
Supply & Trading Limited over crude oil shipment to November 15.
The case has Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria
Limited and its subsidiary, Shell Western Supply & Trading Limited as
defendants. The matter was adjourned following the absence of the trial judge,
Mojisola Olatoregun, who was said to be attending a conference in Abuja.
Similarly, a sister suit before the same court involving the
government and Agip, slated for yesterday, was also adjourned to November 15
for hearing.
In the suit, the government is claiming the sum of $406.8
million from the defendants, representing the shortfall of money paid into its
account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The money was said to be for crude oil lifted between 2013
and 2014.In a supporting affidavit, the government accused the Anglo-Dutch
company of not declaring or under-declaring crude oil shipments during the
period. It said the discovery followed a forensic analysis of bills of laden
and shipping documents, adding that Shell cheated the nation.
According to the affidavit, the consortium of experts
tracked the global movements of the country’s hydrocarbons, including crude oil
and gas.
They identified the companies engaged in the practices that
led to missing revenues from crude oil and gas export sales to different parts
of the world.The experts also revealed discrepancies in the export records from
Nigeria with the import records at U.S. ports.
The plaintiff averred that the undeclared shipments between
January 2013 and December 2014 brought the total value of the entire shortfall
to $406.75 million.
The defendants were said to have failed to respond to a
Federal Government letter through its legal representative, seeking
clarification on the discrepancies.
Source: guardian.ng
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