Breakthrough ruling in the Hague on Shell's Nigerian subsidiary

Elaine Gilligan

31 January 2013

Yesterday in the Hague a judge ruled on claims against Shell's Nigerian subsidiary and its Dutch parent company, the multinational Royal Dutch Shell, calling on Shell to address four cases of oil pollution in Nigeria.

Four Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth Netherlands brought the case. (Pictured right - one of the plaintiffs, Eric Dooh, near his village in Ogoniland.)

It is unique - as it's the first time the Dutch multinational has been brought before the court in its own country for environmental damage caused abroad. It's also the first time Shell has been ordered to pay compensation for damage caused in Nigeria.

The court ruled that Shell's Nigerian subsidiary was liable for failing to prevent the pollution of farmlands at Ikot Ada Udo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The level of compensation payable will be determined at a subsequent court hearing.

The court did not return a similar verdict in the cases brought by the plaintiffs from Goi and Oruma communities, dismissing the claims relating to wells in these communities. The plaintiffs and Friends of the Earth Netherlands plan to appeal this ruling, and in particular the point of principle about the liability of the Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) parent company.

Above: Eric Dooh (centre) and Friends of the Earth Netherlands campaigner Geert Ritsema (right) listen to the verdict in court at The Hague

Important step

Whilst the decision doesn't go far enough, it's an important victory for the people in Ikot Ada Udo. Crucially, it also shows that multinational companies can be successfully sued in the country where they are established for environmental destruction that they committed, or are responsible for, abroad.

According to a recent UN report, at least twice as much oil has been leaked in Nigeria as in the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike Deepwater Horizon, the Nigerian disaster has been a silent one, with disastrous consequences for people, wildlife, nature and the environment.

As one of the main foreign oil companies in Nigeria, Shell bears significant responsibility for the oil pollution. The UN, among others, has stated that the multinational has not cleaned up the leaked oil for decades, or has done so insufficiently, and that Shell does not comply with legal environmental standards. Moreover, Shell's own sustainability report stated that the number of leaks due to poor maintenance doubled in 2011, rising from 32 to 64.

While large amounts of money are earned in the oil industry, local residents have gained scarcely any benefit from the oil production in their region. Most are dependent on agriculture, fishing, fish farming and gathering snails and other products from the forests. For them, oil pollution means a lack of drinking water, inedible fish, agricultural fields that must lie fallow for years and crops that don't grow.

Judgment is also expected shortly from the US Supreme Court on another case brought against Shell outside Nigeria in connection with its activities there, this time in relation to allegations of human rights abuses.

The devastation faced by communities in the Niger Delta, as a result of oil spills by companies like Shell, demonstrates the urgent need for a global phase-out of fossil fuels and an urgent transition to clean-energy alternatives appropriate to the needs of communities and under their democratic control.

This transition is also urgently needed if we're to stop catastrophic climate change while addressing the inequalities that prevent millions of people from accessing clean, affordable fuel to meet their basic energy needs.

Elaine Gilligan, Head of Programmes