A man holds a shell coated in oil from a polluted river in the Niger delta. — Photo by Reuters/File
Thousands of miles from their homes in the Niger delta, four Nigerian farmers and fishermen have dragged the Anglo-Dutch oil giant into court in a civil suit that could open the door for hundreds of similar cases.
The plaintiffs are backed by environmental lobby group Friends of the Earth.
It is the first time a Dutch company is being sued in the Netherlands over damage in another country, in this case oil pollution in 2005.
The farmers want Royal Dutch Shell to clean up the mess, repair and maintain defective pipelines to prevent further damage, and pay out compensation.
Shell, the biggest producer in the west African nation where it has been drilling for the last half-a-century, denied responsibility.
The company pinned oil spills between 2004 and 2007 on illegal theft and sabotage.
"Oil is being stolen daily and illegally refined in Nigeria," a Shell official who asked not to be named told A
"These illegal activities are the biggest contributor to pollution."
"We say there was a spill, it wasn't our fault, we cleaned up nevertheless and that's what happened," Shell's Vice President Environment Allard Castelein told AFP last year.
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