Oil Spill: Nigerian farmers finally allowed to drag Shell to court
A Dutch court, Friday, ruled that Nigerian farmers will have the chance to sue multinational oil company, Shell, in the Netherlands.
The ruling sets a landmark legal precedence that clears the way for Netherlands-based companies to be sued for alleged negligence of their subsidiaries elsewhere in the world.
Four Nigerian farmers had, in 2008, filed charges against the company in the Netherlands for pollution in the Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta.
The plaintiffs asked that the court direct the Dutch company to clean up devastating oil spills in four heavily polluted villages in the region, prevent further spills, and pay compensation.
Then, Shell argued that it had no liability in the case and that Dutch courts did not have jurisdiction.
“It cannot be established in advance that the parent company is not liable for possible negligence of the Nigerian operating company,” The Hague Appeals Court said in a statement.
Reacting in a written statement, Shell Nigeria expressed its disappointment with the ruling.
“We believe allegations concerning Nigerian plaintiffs in dispute with a Nigerian company, over issues which took place within Nigeria, should be heard in Nigeria,” the statement said.
In 2013, judges rejected most of the case, saying pipeline leaks were caused by saboteurs, not Shell negligence. However, in one case, the judges ordered a subsidiary, Shell Nigeria, to compensate a farmer for breach of duty of care by making it too easy for saboteurs to open an oil well head that leaked on to his land.
Shell, which discovered and started tapping the country’s oil reserves in the late 1950s, has been heavily criticized by activists and local communities over oil spills and close ties to government security forces.
With this latest decision, the case will proceed most likely next year..
