A Dutch court will decide on Wednesday if it will hear two lawsuits accusing oil giant Shell of failing to maintain two pipelines in Nigeria, the Wall Street Journal said at the weekend.

The same court ruled in December that a similar case against Shell can be heard in the Dutch courts even though the complaint concerns its operations in the oil-rich African country.
The three cases, filed by environmental group Milieudefensie on behalf of Nigerian farmers, are seeking unspecified damages. The farmers also want Shell to clean up polluted farmland and fishing areas.
Shell maintains the spillage in all three areas was caused by sabotage. It also disputes the idea that Dutch courts have jurisdiction over events in Nigeria.