FirstBank, Shell oppose Nigerian group’s bid to seize assets in oil spill dispute
TIFE OWOLABI and LIBBY GEORGE MEMBERS of a community in southern Nigeria had no right to seize assets from a bank branch this week in a dispute over compensation for an oil spill more than five decades ago, the FirstBank and a unit of energy giant Shell has said. Members of the Ejama-Ebubu community and law enforcement officers entered a FirstBank branch in Port Harcourt this week to seize assets following a court award relating to the spill that took place in the 1967-70 civil war. The community was awarded damages worth 17 billion naira ($44.7 million), with accruing interest,…