UK Court Blocks Nigeria Oil Pollution Case Against Shell
The High Court in London has ruled that two polluted communities in Nigeria's southern Niger Delta region cannot seek redress against oil giant Shell in the UK.
The court agreed with the multinational's argument that the case, affecting more than 40,000 people, should be heard by local courts in Nigeria.
Two communities in the Niger Delta - the Ogale and Bille - allege that decades of oil spills have polluted their fishing waters and contaminated their farmland.
But Mr Justice Peter Fraser stated that the case against Royal Dutch Shell, and its subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, did not have the prospect of success and therefore could not proceed.
In 2015, Shell agreed to an $84m (£55m) settlement with residents of the Bodo community in the Niger Delta for two oil spills.
