Four Nigerian farmers will be able to sue Shell following an important ruling by a Dutch Court today.
The case was initially filed in 2008, with the farmers backed by environmental activist group “Friends of the earth”.
Oil spills by Shell have polluted rivers and destroyed farmlands in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
Shell had denied liability for the oil spills, shifting blame instead to pipeline saboteurs.
The judge ruled that, “It cannot be established in advance that the parent company is not liable for possible negligence of the Nigerian operating company,”
The court also asked Shell to provide documents detailing their internal operations to the plaintiffs.
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