Nigerians could see justice over Shell oil spills after six decades

A landmark legal case is laying the groundwork for communities to sue parent companies for the damages of their subsidiaries

Chief Patricia Ogbonnaya walks through her Nigerian farm on a July afternoon, a light drizzle coating her umbrella while she examines what should have been ripe fruit trees and thriving fish ponds. She points to dark stains on tree trunks that stop abruptly at the same level across her land. That's how high the oil reached during the flood," she says touching the bark, her hand coming away with sticky residue.