On January 26, 2017, the U.K. High Court of Justice ruled in Okpabi v. Royal Dutch Shell that Nigerian nationals cannot use U.K. courts to sue Shell or its Nigerian subsidiary for damage resulting from oil spills affecting the Niger Delta and the surrounding area. In the judgment, Justice Fraser reasoned that there was no jurisdictional nexus from the facts to the U.K., stating that “there is simply no connection whatsoever between this jurisdiction and the claims brought by the claimants, who are Nigerian citizens, for breaches of statutory duty and/or in common law for acts and omissions in Nigeria, by a Nigeria company.” The judge further notes that the judgment does not take “any view on the merits of the case in terms of minimising or ignoring the effects upon the claimants of the conditions in the Niger Delta” and that they do “potentially have other redress available to them in Nigeria.” Lawyers for the claimants have stated that they will immediately appeal the decision.