U.K. High Court Says Nigerians Can Sue Shell in Britain Over Oil Spills

U.K. High Court Says Nigerians Can Sue Shell in Britain Over Oil Spills

U.K. High Court Says Nigerians Can Sue Shell in Britain Over Oil SpillsThe Dutch energy company has a presence in Britain, and a judge ruled there was “a real issue to be tried.”The Niger delta, where signs of oil spills can be seen in the water in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in 2018.Credit...Ron Bousso/ReutersBy Stanley ReedFeb. 12, 2021, 11:50 a.m. ETLONDON — Britain's Supreme Court said Friday that a group of about 50,000 Nigerian farmers and fishermen could bring a case in London's High Court against Royal Dutch Shell over years of oil spills in the Niger Delta that have polluted their land, wells and waterways.The judges said there was the potential that a parent company like Shell, which has its headquarters in the Netherlands but a large British presence, has responsibility for the activities of subsidiaries like the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, which operates in the Delta region.The court overruled a lower court that had said that there was no case to be brought against Shell in Britain. On Friday, the judges said there was “a real issue to be tried.”The ruling is “a watershed moment in the accountability of multinational companies,” said Daniel Leader, a partner in