Nigerian farmers await verdict in Dutch oil case

A Dutch court is set to give its verdict in a case pitting four Nigerian farmers against the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell over oil pollution in Nigeria.

The case is linked to spills in the southern oil-rich Niger Delta:

• Goi in the Ogoniland region of Rivers State

• Oruma in Bayelsa State

• And Ikot Ada Udo in Akwa Ibom State.

The appeals court in The Hague will rule on Frida on the farmers' claims for compensation, a clean-up of the villages and a commitment that Shell will prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future.

Shell denies any wrongdoing.

The case was brought against Shell by the four farmers and the Dutch arm of the environmental group Friends of the Earth.

Two of the farmers have died since the case was first filed in 2008, the AFP news agency reports.

The environmental group has tweeted that: "We believe they [the farmers] are entitled to compensation and that Shell should clean up its mess after all."

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: Bloomberg