The High Court in London today begins a three day legal arguments to decide whether British courts can hear claims brought against the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell by two Nigerian communities.
The Ogale and Bille kingdoms are seeking compensation for spills from oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, which they say were caused by a local subsidiary of Shell.
The oil giant and its Nigerian subsidiary have long faced criticism over their record in the Niger Delta – where oil spills have caused widespread environmental damage.
Royal Dutch Shell blames sabotage and oil theft for much of the damage.
In the High Court, the multinational will argue that the case should be heard in Nigeria and not in the UK.
But lawyers representing the affected communities argue that the Nigerian legal system is too fraught with difficulties to deliver justice.
Analysts say that if the case is allowed to proceed it could open the floodgates to more multinationals being sued in London courts.
However, Royal Dutch Shell is still much in business with the Nigerian government. Last week Nigeria reached a major settlement to pay Shell and a host of other oil majors about USD5.1 billion in backlog debt in oil production joint venture arrangement.
