A spokesperson of the British Supreme Court has said that judgement is expected later this year or in early 2021 in the appeal filed by Nigerian farmers and fishermen against Shell oil spills in the Niger Delta.
The court heard the appeal on Tuesday after a London court ruled in 2018 that the claim could not be pursued in England.
Lawyers for the Nigerian communities and Shell contested on Tuesday whether the Niger Delta case was similar to that of the Supreme Court ruling last year which held that Zambian villagers had the right to sue Indian-listed mining company Vedanta in England.
The Ogale and Bille communities in Niger Delta allege that Shell’s oil operations have polluted their land and waters.
A law firm representing the farmers and fishermen, Leigh Day, said the petitioners are seeking justice through British courts because cases heard in Nigeria can take decades to resolve.
But Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company, says “claims by Nigerian communities against a Nigerian company about events in Nigeria should be heard in Nigeria and not the UK.”
The company says the spills are caused by oil theft, sabotage and illegal refining.
