Nigerian communities can bring landmark human rights claims against Shell, High Court rules
The High Court in the UK has ruled that 13,000 Nigerian fishermen and farmers at the centre of a major oil pollution case against Shell can bring claims for breaches of their right to a clean environment under Nigerian constitutional law. If the case succeeds at trial, it will be the first time in legal history that a UK multinational will have been found to have breached a communities’ right to a clean environment.
The move is a major development in the landmark legal claim by the Ogale and Bille communities, who have been fighting the oil giant for a clean-up and compensation after the pollution devastated the area, leaving them without clean water and unable to farm and fish.
The case was filed in February 2023 by the UK law firm Leigh Day(opens in new window) .
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Audrey Gaughran
Executive Director -
Joseph Wilde-Ramsing
Advocacy Director
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