The People of Nigeria versus Shell
Shell loses first session courtcase
On Thursday, 3 December 2009, the unique legal action taken by four
Nigerian victims of Shell oil leaks, in conjunction with
Milieudefensie, started at the court in The Hague. Shell asked the court to rule that the Dutch court has no jurisdiction over Shell Nigeria. On December 30th the court held that the Dutch court has jurisdiction over the operations of Shell Nigeria.
Given that Shell has now lost this point, an important hurdle has been overcome, and the ‘real’ lawsuit can begin.This is the first
time in history that a Dutch company has been brought to trial in a
Dutch court for damages occurring abroad.
The four victims of the leaks come from the villages of Goi, Oruma and Ikot Ada Udo. They are Nigerian farmers and fishers, who lost their livelihoods when oil leaked from Shell pipelines onto their fields and into their ponds. They are claiming compensation from the Dutch multinational. They also want Shell to clean up the oil which remains in the ground, so that they can fish and farm once again.
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Milieudefensie in action
In recent years, Milieudefensie has held demonstrations to call on Shell headquarters to take its responsibility in Nigeria. Nevertheless, Shell’s actions still lead to many oil leaks, which are not properly cleaned up.
