Today, four Nigerian citizens and  Friends of the Earth Netherlands/Nigeria will file a lawsuit against Shell in The Hague, with charges of causing environmental damage abroad.. This will be the first time in history that Shell's international headquarters will have to appear in court. The plaintiffs in the case, Nigerian fishermen and farmers from the Niger Delta area, claim that they have suffered from the effects of oil spills related to Shell's operations in the oil-rich area and accuse Shell of negligence. These oil spills are not sporadic events, but happen an average of five times per week with each spill releasing around 16 litres of crude oil into the environment.

According to Shell a third of the spills in Nigeria are caused by human mistakes and inadequate maintenance of the oil installations, and two thirds are caused by sabotage. All spills from Shell operations in Nigeria have to be cleaned up by Shell. - Friends of the Earth Netherlands

According to Friends of the Earth Netherlands, among the evidence that will be submitted is the research of two Nigerian professors that have found soil and water contamination that prohibited land cultivation and fishing, 10, 24 and 33 months following the spills. In addition, oil spills expert and American professor Rick Steiner's investigations "show that Shell did not meet international standards for 'good oil field practice' in Nigeria."

Why file the lawsuit in Dutch court rather than Nigerian court?

Anne van Schaik, campaign leader of Milieudefensie / Friends of the Earth Netherlands said: "Here Shell would never treat people and the environment in the way it does in Nigeria. We hope that the Dutch judge will decide that Shell must clean up the pollution and that the victims must be compensated properly."  Nnimmo Bassey, director of Environmental Rights Action / Friends of the Earth Nigeria said: "Shell hardly notices Nigerian court orders. We want a Dutch court to ensure that justice is done against Royal Dutch Shell." - Friends of the Earth Netherlands

If Shell is found responsible for these environmental disasters, it will have to compensate the plaintiffs and prepare for a long line of other affected parties to follow suit.