Photo: Victor Temofe Mogbolu/UNEP

UNEP scientists inspecting a pipeline right of way around 30 metres wide cut through mangroves in Ogoniland.

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell is to appear in court this Thursday for causing damage in the Niger Delta. It's the first time ever that a Dutch multinational is being put on trial at home to account for damage caused abroad.

The case has been filed by four Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth Netherlands.

"This court case will have groundbreaking legal repercussions for multinational corporations globally, and especially for European corporations," says Geert Ritsema, globalization campaign leader at Friends of the Earth Netherlands.

Shell argues that for many years, it was unable to clean up oil spills because of insecurity in the region. The Anglo-Dutch oil firm also claims that 75 percent of the oil spills are caused by sabotage and theft. Every day, 150,000 barrels of oil disappear in the delta.