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| An overview of the Niger delta where signs of oil spills can be seen in the water in Port Harcourt, Nigeria August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Ron Bousso/File Photo |
The Supreme Court in London will hear an appeal by Nigerian farmers and fishermen to pursue claims in England against oil major Shell over oil spills in the Niger Delta, lawyers for the two affected communities said on Wednesday.
The decision to hear the appeal re-opens the possibility for British multinationals to be held liable at home for their subsidiariesโ actions abroad. It comes after a setback in February last year when a London court ruled that the claim could not be pursued in England.
โThe decision will allow the two communities from Bille and Ogale in the Niger Delta to appeal to the UKโs highest court, having suffered from decades of pollution from Shellโs pipelines,โ Leigh Day, the law firm representing the communities, said in a statement.
The main question for the courts is whether they have jurisdiction over claims against Shellโs Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), which is jointly operated with the Nigerian government.
โWe maintain that claims by Nigerian communities against a Nigerian company about events in Nigeria, should be heard in Nigeria and not the UK,โ said an SPDC spokeswoman.
SPDC maintains the spills are chiefly due to oil theft, sabotage and illegal refining.
But the communities maintain they cannot seek redress locally.
โThe English courts are our only hope because we cannot get justice in Nigeria,โ said King Okpabi, the ruler of the Ogale community, in Wednesdayโs statement.
Ruling on a similar case in April, Londonโs Supreme Court decided that Zambian villagers had the right to sue India-listed mining company Vedanta in England.
REUTERS
