29 June 2017
The widows of four men executed by Nigeria’s military regime in 1995 are suing oil giant Shell for alleged complicity in a military crackdown.
The civil case, filed in The Hague in the Netherlands, argues that the company provided support to the army, which ultimately led to the executions.
Shell has repeatedly denied the claims.
Ken Saro-Wiwa was the best known of the nine men executed. He led protests against the environmental damage caused by oil production in the Niger Delta.
The latest case against Royal Dutch Shell has been filed by four of the wives of the men – political activists known as the Ogoni nine – and is supported by Amnesty International.
The women are seeking an apology and unspecified compensation
‘Regret‘
In response Shell – the largest oil producer in Nigeria – said that it “did not collude with the authorities to suppress community unrest and in no way encouraged or advocated any act of violence in Nigeria.”
“The executions of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his fellow Ogonis in 1995 were tragic events that were carried out by the military government in power at the time. We were shocked and saddened when we heard the news of the executions.
“The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited appealed to the Nigerian government to grant clemency. To our deep regret, that appeal, and the appeals made by many others within and outside Nigeria, went unheard.
The hanging of the men provoked an international outcry, and remains one of the most sensitive cases in Nigeria.
The oil giant has faced lawsuits in various countries relating to the executions.
Eight years ago, it agreed an out-of-court settlement in the US to pay more than $15 millon to a group of the men’s relatives.
Shell has also faced lawsuits over oil spills and environmental damage in the Delta region.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
