A court in the Netherlands has ruled the oil giant Shell is at least partly responsible for environmental damage from oil leaks in the Niger Delta. On Wednesday, a Dutch court ruled Shell must pay compensation to a Nigerian farmer whose land was contaminated by oil pollution from Shell’s operations. The ruling was mixed, however, as the court also threw out four other complaints. Despite the dismissals, Nigerian human rights lawyer and activist Ebun Adegboruwa said the ruling establishes a precedent to hold Shell accountable.

Ebun Adegboruwa: “I am glad that for the first time at least the agitation of our people has been confirmed that Shell is not a friendly organization and that it needed to be held accountable by its own people for the crimes committed against people of Nigeria, so it’s quite commendable.”