REMEDIATION BEFORE DIVESTMENT AND JUST TRANSITION: BILLE AS A CASE STUDY

In the Niger Delta, multinational oil companies are divesting onshore assets amid climate and regulatory pressure, often exiting without fully remediating environmental damage in host communities. Bille Kingdom in Rivers State, Nigeria, presents a critical example where decades of oil operations have left land and water pollution, yet divestment discussions have proceeded with limited accountability for remediation and no structured plan for a just transition of livelihoods. This study adopts a doctrinal research methodology, analyzing relevant statutes, regulations, case law, and policy instruments including CAMA 2020, PIA 2021, NOSDRA Act, and international frameworks on business and human rights and just transition. It is supplemented by reviewing corporate reports, regulatory filings, and community documentation relating to Bille.

The research finds a governance gap: current law permits divestment without mandatory prior remediation, and there is no enforceable mechanism linking asset transfer to environmental cleanup or to social safeguards for affected workers and communities. In Bille, this has resulted in legacy pollution remaining unaddressed while economic dependency on oil persists with no alternative pathways. Divestment without prior remediation violates the polluter-pays principle and undermines a just transition. The study concludes that Nigerian law and regulatory practice must mandate remediation, decommissioning, and stakeholder engagement as preconditions to asset sale. It recommends statutory linkage of divestment approvals to certified remediation; establishment of a Just Transition Fund for Bille; binding community benefit agreements; and enhanced oversight by NOSDRA, NUPRC, and state government to ensure environmental liability is not transferred with assets.