Nigerian farmers bring case against Shell oil in Dutch court

Four Nigerian farmers from the oil producing Niger Delta region were in a Netherlands court today to argue their case against the multinational oil company Shell. The farmers allege that pollution from Shell’s activities affected their farmlands and fishing ponds and denied them their livelihood.  The case marks the first time a Dutch multinational is being sued at home in connection with pollution caused abroad and it comes a little more than a week after the US Supreme Court heard a case against Shell for alleged involvement in acts of torture in Nigeria.  The case at the Hague could set a precedent which would make it possible for multinational companies to be sued at home for pollution caused in other countries. FSRN’s Sam Olukoya reports from Lagos.