An Upper Area Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Gambo Garba on Thursday issued a criminal summons against Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria and seven of its top executives over the alleged theft of 16 million barrels of crude oil through the use of a fraudulent and unapproved metering system.

This followed a suit marked DC/CR/200/2021 and  filed African Initiative Against Abuse of Public Trust

The Shell executives  were Chibueze Uduanochie, Simon Ruddy, Bashir Bello, Osagie Okunbor, Igo Weli, Toyin Olagunji and Captain Callium Finlayson. The summons dated February 25, said  the respondents are to appear before the court on March 2, to answer the charge levelled against them by the complainant.

The complainant alleged that as operators of the Bonny Terminal, Shell installed an unapproved metering system which it claimed was temporary and which it manipulated to deliberately understate the volume of crude oil that was injected to the terminal thereby shortchanging the local oil companies, owners of the oil and the Federal Government of the revenue due to them.

The oil companies include Belema Oil, Eroton, AITEO and Newcross.

The group sought an order of court convicting the Shell executives for the criminal acts of conspiracy, theft, and cheating which are in violation of Sections 97, 287 and 323 of the Penal Code Law Cap 89 Law of Northern Nigeria, 1963.

According to court papers, the group alleged that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR, the regulatory agency indicted Shell of wrongdoing when it conducted investigations into the allegations. The complainant further alleged that Shell admitted to having cheated the companies of about two million barrels and also committed to refunding the crude to the companies.

The group revealed it would be pressing for the maximum punishment which is six months in jail for conspiracy, five years for theft and five years for cheating.