A Nigerian monarch has taken to the Federal High Court of Nigeria to demand reparations from oil and gas giant Shell before the company fully divests from its assets in the country.

Several civil rights and environmental groups have formed a coalition to back King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of the Ekpetiama Kingdom, in this lawsuit, according to Business Day Nigeria.

After almost nine decades of operating business in Nigeria — including pumping over 1 million barrels of oil per day from operations in the Niger Delta — Shell is looking to sell off its assets and focus on more lucrative renewable energy projects, including wind and solar.

In fact, the oil and gas giant has publicly revealed its intention to divest from the Niger Delta area in 2021 following significant backlash from the community after years of oil spills, as well as militant attacks.

There have been more than 7,000 oil spills, amounting to an average of 240,000 barrels of spilled oil per year, in the Niger Delta region since the 1950s, according to Gas Outlook.

These incidents, along with gas flaring — or the controlled burning of natural gas — have significantly contaminated the soil, water, and air in the region, posing a serious health risk to local communities that depend on these natural resources.

Local communities have also been exposed to dangerous levels of known carcinogens, which increase the risk of cancer.

While Shell's move to divest from gas and oil in the region to focus on renewable energy sources seems commendable — following a larger global trend toward a more sustainable planet and future — Shell cannot wipe its hands clean of its destructive actions by simply selling off assets to local energy companies.

This monumental lawsuit, led by King Dakolo and backed by a strong alliance of civil rights experts and environmentalists, aims to stop Shell from leaving the region before it rectifies the environmental damage it has caused in the area over the past decades of business operation.

The plaintiffs seek $12 billion in restitution for environmental pollution and damage, remediation of polluted sites, and the decommissioning of obsolete infrastructure, per Business Day Nigeria.

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This case sets a precedent in Nigeria, as well as internationally, that large corporations cannot carelessly exploit natural resources in a region and simply walk away without paying the cost of redress.

"The Niger Delta cannot be a sacrificial zone for fossil fuel greed," said Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, per Business Day Nigeria.

"Shell wants to leave behind a mess that has ruined our rivers, farmlands, and livelihoods," said King Dakolo, per Terra Daily. "We will not accept abandonment."

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