REUTERS
Environmentalists, Nigerians seek damages for oil spills
Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:35am EST
* Court says competent to handle cases
* Shell reply to allegations expected on Feb. 10
AMSTERDAM, Dec 30 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and its Nigerian unit will face compensation demands in a Dutch court for alleged damage caused by oil spills in Nigeria after the court ruled on Wednesday it was competent to handle the cases.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth Netherlands and four Nigerians aim to sue Shell and Nigeria-based Shell Petroleum Development Co. (SPDC) in a district court in The Hague on charges related to incidents of oil spills in Nigeria.
Shell had asked for a ruling on whether the Dutch court had jurisdiction over SPDC’s Nigerian activities, but the court rejected a claim of incompetence.
“The court has decided that it is competent, so we will be handling the case,” said a court spokeswoman. “The facts are connected and for reasons of efficiency the cases against Royal Dutch Shell and Shell Nigeria will be handled jointly.”
The plaintiffs, farmers and fishermen in the oil-rich Niger Delta, say that oil leaking from Shell activities has polluted their farmlands and fish ponds, and are demanding that Shell clean up the oil and compensate them.
After several failed attempts to address the issue in Nigeria, the plaintiffs decided to bring the cases to the Netherlands as Shell is a partly Dutch firm, said a spokeswoman for Friends of the Earth.
“For years, these people have been trying to get Shell to clean up its mess,” Friends of the Earth said. “The court decision is an initial victory for all Nigerians that have been fighting for years for a cleaner habitat and justice.”
Shell has said the spills in question were caused by sabotage. Oil companies active in Nigeria have grappled with militant sabotage activities in recent years which have hit production in the world’s eighth-biggest crude oil exporter.
Shell will be able to enter a statement of reply to the claims on Feb. 10, the court spokeswoman said. Shell said on Wednesday it was disappointed with the court’s ruling, describing the issues as ‘purely Nigerian matters’.
Friends of the Earth’s Dutch arm has said Shell has the authority and the control to ensure oil spills are prevented and are cleaned up. They argue the spills are part of a systematic pattern over decades.
(Reporting by Catherine Hornby; editing by David Cowell and Hans Peters)
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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