A preliminary hearing relating to claims against Shell over oil spills in Nigeria will begin in the High Court tomorrow.

The hearing, before Mrs Justice May and listed until 7 March, will determine the scope of the legal issues to be heard at the full trial. These include whether oil pollution by a private company can be a violation of human rights under the Nigerian Constitution and African Charter on Human and People’s Rights; and whether Shell can be held liable for damage resulting from oil theft from pipelines or the waste produced as a result of illegal artisanal refining of spilled or stolen oil.

The oil spills in the Niger Delta region caused environmental damage including water and ground contamination of the area. The claimants seek injunctive relief from Shell to carry out remediation, as well as damages.

In February 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the Ogale and Bille communities could bring legal claims for the clean-up and compensation against Shell, a UK domiciled company, and its subsidiary SPDC (Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd).

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The claimants, represented by Leigh Day, claim Shell failed to prevent, mitigate or remediate the oil contamination and are liable for compensation. Shell argues that the major sources of oil pollution are crude oil theft and related oil spills, artisanal refining, and spills from assets controlled and operated by third parties for which the company is not responsible. It also claims that the sources of oil pollution do not give rise to any liability under Nigerian law.

The full trial is expected to take place in 2026.