A Dutch court has rejected four out of five allegations against Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell over oil pollution in Nigeria's Niger Delta region. But it found a subsidiary of the firm, Shell Nigeria, responsible for one case of pollution, ordering it to pay compensation to one Nigerian farmer. The level of damages in that case will be established at a later hearing. The landmark case against the Anglo-Dutch firm was brought by four Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth. The case is linked to spills in Goi, Ogoniland; Oruma in Bayelsa State and a third in Ikot Ada Udo, Akwa Ibom State. The farmers had alleged that oil spills had poisoned their fish ponds and farmland with leaking pipelines. The court said Shell was only guilty of negligence. "The district court has established that four oil spills were not caused by defective maintenance by Shell but by sabotage from third parties," the court said in its judgement. It said according to Nigerian law, the firm was not responsible for damage caused in this way. However, in one case it found Shell Nigeria culpable of neglecting its duty of care and ruled that: "Shell could and should have prevented this sabotage in an easy way". Friends of the Earth have said they are "flabbergasted" by the verdict and intend to appeal.
