EKO JCA (Delivering the Lead Ruling): The respondents, in the year 2000, took out a suit against the oil producing giant, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd - (SPDC for short), in the suit No FHC/UM/CS/03/2000. The suit was before the Federal High Court sitting at Umuahia. SPDC lost the suit on 17 November 2005. The Federal High Court ordered the SPDC to pay a total of N1,849,187,568.00 (one billion eight hundred and forty-nine million, one hundred and eighty-seventhousand, five hundred and sixty-eight naira) to the claimants, now the respondents. The SPDC appealed the decision of the Federal High Court to this court and prayed the Federal High Court to say the execution of its judgment. The Federal High Court granted a conditional stay of the judgment. It directed the SPDC to deposit the judgment sum in the court pending the determination of its appeal at the Court of Appeal in the suit no CA/PH/103/06. Not satisfied with the order of conditional stay of executi…