Nigerian monarch takes on oil giant in search of justice

Growing up in southern Nigeria during the 1970s, Bubaraye Dakolo would easily catch 20 kilograms of fish within minutes.

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These days, a fisherman casts nets all night, only to bring back just about three kilograms.

Now, Dakolo, the monarch of Ekpetiama, a kingdom in the southern coastal state of Bayelsa, a custodian of peace and tradition and a former soldier, has risen to be one of the country’s prominent environmental crusaders.

When Shell announced this year it was divesting its onshore assets without first addressing decades-long oil pollution, Dakolo decided silence was not an option for a royal.

He sued one of the world’s oil giants to force it to clean up and restore the environmental health of his kingdom.