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Ken Saro-Wiwa

Nigerian widows end their case in the Netherlands against Shell

REUTERS

Nigerian widows end their case in the Netherlands against Shell

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A group of four widows who had sought to hold Shell liable for damages in the Netherlands after their anti-oil activist husbands were executed by the Nigerian government in 1995 have cancelled further legal proceedings, their lawyer said on Monday.

“Obviously this is not without disappointment and frustration,” said lawyer Channa Samkalden in statement announcing that the widows have cancelled an appeal launched after the Hague District Court rejected their case earlier this year. read more

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Nigerian President mulls posthumous pardon for Ogoni 9

…the group, which became known as Ogoni 9 were activists from the Ogoni region who opposed the operating practices of the Royal Dutch Shell oil corporation…

Vanguard

Buhari mulls posthumous pardon for Saro-Wiwa, 8 others

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, hinted of a possible state posthumous pardon for the late environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa and others executed  in the height of the Ogoni crisis in the 1990s.

President Buhari has also assured of completion of segment of the East-West road traversing Ogoni land. read more

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WHEN DEVELOPMENT BECOMES A CRIME: THE CASE OF BOMU COMMUNITY

WHEN DEVELOPMENT BECOMES A CRIME: THE CASE OF BOMU COMMUNITY

PEMII BEN. B.

Ban Ki-Moon, the former secretary-general of the United Nations, once asserted that: “sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance.”

Going by the dictates of the above quote, it becomes glaring that there is a nexus between development and social justice which, by extension, procreates social stability and mutual co-existence. The absence of “sustainable development” therefore portends danger, especially social unrest which emanates from neglect in every ramification. read more

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Ken Saro Wiwa Resurrection: Spirit of the Ogoni

Press release 7th September 2020

Ken Saro Wiwa Resurrection: Spirit of the Ogoni

November the 10th 2020 is the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the execution of the environmentalist, author Ken Saro Wiwa and 8 others who became known as the Ogoni 9.

More than 25 years ago Filmmaker Nathan Achim Sheppard filmed and conducted an in-depth interview at Ken’s home in London about his life, work and struggle.

Literally a few hours before his final journey to Nigeria never to return.

In this interview Ken also directs his daughter reading a moving passage from one of his books. read more

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Nigeria: Court Garnishees First Bank Account With CBN Over Judgment Debt of N182.7 Billion

The humongous amount represents the punitive measures slammed on Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Limited for devastating the community and its environs and ecosystem with oil spillage.

By Akin Akinwale: 8 March 2020

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has made a garnishee order compelling the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay the people of Ejama Community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State a total sum of N182.7 billion. The amount is to be deducted from the account of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. in the custody of the CBN.

Lawyers to Ejama community told THISDAY last night they have since served the CBN the garnishee order absolute.

The humongous amount represents the punitive measures slammed on Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Limited for devastating the community and its environs and ecosystem with oil spillage. read more

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The Nigerian Activist Whose Death Shamed Shell

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SHELL RELATED EXTRACTS FROM AN ARTICLE BY JACOBIN PUBLISHED UNDER THE HEADLINE “THE NIGERIAN ACTIVIST WHOSE DEATH SHAMED SHELL”

AN INTERVIEW WITH ROY DORON / TOYIN FALOLA: 10 NOV 2019

Twenty-four years ago today, environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian state. His death brought international attention to the rapacious behavior of oil companies like Shell — and their complicity in the most violent forms of repression.

Born in 1941, Ken Saro-Wiwa came of age as Nigeria gained independence and became a lifelong advocate for the importance of minority rights within a unified national identity. A member of the Ogoni ethnic group, who at only half a million hold little sway in a country of two hundred million, Saro-Wiwa was central to mobilizing a popular movement that demanded accountability for companies like Shell that were extracting oil in the creeks of the Niger Delta. read more

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Q & A with famed litigant Esther Kiobel suing Shell for alleged complicity in the murder of her husband

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Q & A WITH ESTHER KIOBEL (The lead plaintiff in litigation by four Ogoni 9 widows currently suing Shell in the Dutch courts for alleged complicity in the murder of their husbands and other alleged crimes and abuses of human rights in Nigeria.)

1) Twenty-four years ago, your husband was one of the Ogoni nine executed by Abacha. How have you and the family been coping?

HMMMMMM! WE LIVE BY THE GRACE OF GOD THAT STRENGTHENS US.

2) What exactly was your husband’s offence?

MY HUSBAND’S OFFENSE WAS HIS REFUSAL TO BETRAY HIS PEOPLE IN AN EXECUTIVE MEETING AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE. THEY SAID ON FALSE CHARGES THAT HE, MITEE, AND KEN SARO WIWA CONSPIRED TO KILL THE FOUR PROMINENT OGONIS WHO WERE HAVING MEETING AT GIOKOO. JUST FALSE ALLEGATION TO GET THEM KILLED FOR NO JUST CAUSE. read more

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Court Rules Against Shell Over Killing of Ogoni Leaders

The court ordered that the case should not be time-barred, while also granting the prayers of the plaintiffs that Shell should hand over the confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers

Lawyer Channa Samkalden, and two Ogoni Nine widows, Esther Kiobel (centre) and Victoria Bera (right) in the Dutch Court

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK: MAY 02, 2019

The District Court of the Hague has issued an interim ruling in favour of wives of Ogoni leaders killed in 1995 during the military era of Sani Abacha.

The case, which was instituted by four wives of the slain leaders — Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula — accused Shell of being involved in the decision by the Nigerian government that led to the killing of their husbands.

The plaintiffs are also calling on the court to order Shell to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents crucial to the case. Shell’s lawyers have refused to do so, even though these documents were submitted as evidence in the US case.

Shell had said that the Dutch court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, but the court ordered that the case must continue.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the court ordered that the case should not be time barred, while also granting the prayers of the plaintiffs that Shell should hand over the confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, and that they would have the opportunity to examine witnesses.

Amnesty International, an international human rights organization, supported Kiobel’s legal team to bring the case to the Netherlands in 2017, and detailed Shell’s role in the arrests and executions in a briefing. read more

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Remembering Ken Saro-Wiwa 23 years after brutal killing by Nigerian govt

Shell is facing a civil suit in Netherland over its alleged complicity in the killing of Mr Saro-Wiwa and the eight other Ogoni activists. The suit was filed on June 28, 2017, by four of the widows of the Ogoni Nine, led by Esther Kiobel.

10 November 2018

It is exactly 23 years today since Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright, environmental activist and Ogoni leader was brutally executed.

He was executed on November 10, 1995, by the Nigerian government under the leadership of the then military dictator, Sani Abacha.

Mr Saro-Wiwa and eight of his kinsmen, who became popularly known as the Ogoni Nine, were sentenced to death by a special military tribunal set up by Mr Abacha who later died in June 1998 inside the presidential villa under mysterious circumstances. read more

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In Nigeria, Shell’s onshore roots still run deep

An overview of the Niger delta where signs of oil spills can be seen in the water in Port Harcourt, Nigeria August 1, 2018. Picture taken August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Ron Bousso

Ron Bousso: SEPT 23, 2018

BODO, Nigeria (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell wants to reweight its footprint in Nigeria to focus on oil and gas fields far offshore, away from the theft, spills, corruption and unrest that have plagued the West African country’s onshore industry for decades.

But for the company that pioneered Nigeria’s oil industry in the 1950s, the Niger Delta remains as important — and problematic — as ever.

While Shell has cut onshore oil production and sold some onshore assets, it continues to invest in others. In fact, onshore production has risen in recent years as a share of Shell’s output in Nigeria, an analysis of company data over the past decade shows. read more

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Insight into shocking Ogoniland events stemming from Nigerian crude oil discovery decades ago

Bomu-Lewe Incessant Crises: What Authorities Should Know

By: Nii Poi Vikem

After the discovery of crude oil in Oloibiri, Bomu was the next place crude oil was discovered in commercial quantity in Nigeria and it was the entry port for a multinational oil giant like Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC into the belly of Ogoniland and Nigeria.

This strategic economic significance has made Bomu the pride of Nigeria’s economic growth, though completely denied the appurtenances derivable from the major role it played and still plays in Nigeria’s economic indices. read more

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‘Why we will never allow firm to resume oil production’

On:

The National Coordinator of Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates, Chief Gani Topba, has disclosed why Ogoni people will never allow Robo-Michael Ltd to resume oil production in Ogoniland’s four local governments of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

He accused the oil company of lack of capacity, while its association with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the oil production arm of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), would be to its disadvantage. Topba said SPDC would not be allowed to return to Ogoni through the backdoor. read more

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Multiple news stories: Amnesty International demands criminal investigation of Shell complicity in murder

Esther Kiobel poses with a picture of her late husband, one of nine men executed by Nigeria’s military government after a peaceful uprising in 1995 against Shell’s widespread pollution in Ogoniland. Photograph: Amnesty International

Multiple news stories: Amnesty International demand criminal investigation of Shell complicity in Nigerian murder, torture and rape

The Guardian: Amnesty seeks criminal inquiry into Shell over alleged complicity in murder and torture in Nigeria

Extract: Amnesty International is calling for a criminal investigation into the oil giant Shell regarding allegations it was complicit in human rights abuses carried out by the Nigerian military. Amnesty is urging the UK, Nigeria and the Netherlands to consider a criminal case against Shell in light of evidence it claims amounts to “complicity in murder, rape and torture” – allegations Shell strongly denies. read more

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Shell warned against resuming operations in Ogoni

By Jimitota Onoyume PORT HAR-COURT— 9 November 2017

THE people of Ogoni have again enjoined the Federal Government to ensure that oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, does not resume operations in the area.

National Coordinator, Ken Sarowiwa Associates, Chief Gani Tobpa, in a statement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, also called on companies intending to operate OML 11 to disclose how they will protect Ogoni communities from another round of environmental pollution, adding that they should also indicate how they would create a robust economy for the people. read more

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Kiobel v Shell lawyers hearing 12 Sept 2017

Andrew Denney, New York Law Journal: September 12, 2017

Forcing Cravath, Swaine & Moore to hand over documents related to litigation against Royal Dutch Shell to a plaintiff seeking redress in Dutch courts would give rise to “discovery litigation tourism,” an attorney for the firm said Tuesday in arguments before a federal appeals court.

Esther Kiobel, who was unsuccessful in her effort to hold Shell liable in American courts for the 1995 execution death of her husband and eight others under the Alien Tort Statute, has taken her fight to the courts in the Netherlands. read more

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Shell Withholds 100,000 Documents Critical To Ogoni Nine Case

The oil giant, Shell, is refusing to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents on the arrest, detention, and execution of nine Ogoni men in the 1990s, Amnesty International has said.

BY PUNCH NEWSPAPERSEP 08, 2017

The oil giant, Shell, is refusing to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents on the arrest, detention, and execution of nine Ogoni men in the 1990s, Amnesty International has said.

The execution of the “Ogoni Nine”,  including the renowned writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, by the government in 1995 sparked global outrage.

Others executed along with Saro-Wiwa were Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. read more

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Ogoni Nine: Shell’s lawyers refusing to hand over “critical” evidence – Amnesty International

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The civil suit filed against Shell in the Netherlands for its alleged complicity in the killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists by the Nigerian government has taken an interesting turn, as lawyers to the oil giant are being accused of refusing to hand over evidence said to be critical to the case.

The nine men, popularly referred to as ‘Ogoni Nine’ were executed in 1995 by Nigeria’s military regime under controversial circumstances. read more

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USA: Shell’s law firm refuses to hand over evidence critical for Ogoni Nine case

8 September 2017, 10:55 UTC

Shell’s US law firm is refusing to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents crucial to a legal case in the Netherlands which is alleging the oil giant’s complicity in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of nine men in Nigeria in the 1990s, Amnesty International said ahead of a US Court of Appeals hearing next week.

The execution of the “Ogoni Nine”, including the renowned writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, by the Nigerian state in 1995 sparked global outrage. It was the culmination of a brutal campaign by Nigeria’s military government to silence protests in the oil-producing Niger Delta region. read more

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OIL PRODUCTION: Ogoni people protest against resumption of Shell

OIL PRODUCTION: Ogoni people protest against resumption of Shell

By Davies Iheamnachor: ON AUGUST 5, 20174:25 AM

Hundreds of youths, elders, and women of Ogoni ethnic group, yesterday, protested against the resumption of oil exploration activities in their area by the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, and Nigeria Petroleum Development Company NPDC.

This came a few days to the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued by the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOB, to shun it’s planned return to Ogoniland. The protesters, who gathered at Kpobie Junction in Gokana Local Government Area, marched with placards bearing anti-Shell inscriptions. read more

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Anxiety as MOSOP, others protest Shell’s resumption of oil production in Ogoniland

Anxiety as MOSOP, others protest Shell’s resumption of oil production in Ogoniland

On:

Thousands of Ogoni people, from the four Local Government Areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme, yesterday defied the heavy rain to massively protest the return of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) to resume crude oil production and laying of pipelines, after the Anglo/Dutch oil giant was sent packing from Ogoniland over 24 years ago.

The protesters, comprising elderly men, women and youths, who were armed with placards, bearing various inscriptions, drumming and singing anti-Shell songs, were led by the President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Chief Legborsi Saro Pyagbara. read more

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Ogoni 9 widow Esther Kiobel lands day in court against oil giant Shell

(CNN)The widow of one of the nine environmental campaigners who were executed by the Nigerian military government has won a 22-year battle to bring oil giant Shell to court.

Esther Kiobel filed a civil suit early Wednesday in the Netherlands where Shell is registered and has its headquarters, her lawyer told CNN. According to the writ, seen by CNN, Kiobel accuses Shell of complicity in the unlawful arrest and detention of her husband, Dr. Barinem Kiobel; the violation of his personal integrity and the violation of his right to a fair trial. Kiobel first filed a case in New York against Shell in 2002 alleging complicity in the execution of the nine human rights activists. However, in 2013, the US Supreme Court ruled that the United States did not have jurisdiction to try the case.

Condemnation

The 1995 execution of Nigerian playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other human rights activists (including Kiobel’s husband) campaigning against environmental degradation of their native Ogoni land caused worldwide condemnation. Saro-Wiwa came into conflict with the ruling junta when he campaigned for the Ogoni people living in Nigeria’s oil basin in the South. The popular playwright criticized Sani Abacha’s military government and the powerful oil industry, charging that it had polluted and destroyed the region’s land and wildlife. The men would later come to be known as the Ogoni 9 following their executions. Saro-Wiwa and the eight others put to death were charged with murdering four men. They were convicted and sentenced to death at a special tribunal. Throughout, Saro-Wiwa maintained that he was being framed for criticizing Abacha’s regime. Abacha ignored pleas for clemency for the men from world leaders including then US President Bill Clinton. Nigeria was promptly kicked out of the Commonwealth of nations — an organization made up of 52 countries that were part of the British Empire — following the executions. In 2009, Shell paid out $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the now late son of the deceased Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr. and others including the deceased’s brother. The suit had accused the global oil conglomerate of complicity in the imprisonment, rights violation and ultimately, death of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight others. The case took 13 years to reach settlement and Shell denied wrongdoing but said it was making the payment on humanitarian grounds according to a statement published in the New York Times.

Long struggle

Kiobel was not a plaintiff in that suit. She and three other widows have been assisted in their long-running struggle by human rights group, Amnesty International — a first for the organization. “It is one of our more remarkable cases. It is very difficult to find lawyers and courts willing to take these cases,” says Audrey Gaughran, acting Senior Director of Research, Amnesty International, in a phone interview with CNN. Gaughran remains hopeful that with the evidence gathered over the years and the location of the case, the judgment will be in the claimants’ favor. “We think Mrs. Kiobel has a strong case… we believe that Shell is complicit in the execution of her husband, Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other men who were executed in 1995. We are optimistic that the court will ultimately see the same argument.”

Positive outcome

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria Limited, through its spokesperson, Precious Okolobo said in an email to CNN: “SPDC 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. SPDC 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.” Kiobel’s lawyer, Channa Samkalden is circumspect about a positive outcome. “It will be a difficult case, but it is also a very important one. The evidence shows how deeply involved Shell was in the activities leading to the death of the ‘Ogoni 9.’ “The fact that a court will assess that evidence and hold Shell to account will already bring some satisfaction,” she said in an email interview.

SOURCE

RELATED

Ken Saro-Wiwa 20 years on: Niger Delta still blighted by oil spills

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Ogoni: Dutch Court to Investigate Shell’s Complicity in the Execution of Ogoni Nine

Ogoni: Dutch Court to Investigate Shell’s Complicity in the Execution of Ogoni Nine

Four widows of members of the so-called Ogoni Nine accuse Dutch oil company Shell of having been passive accomplices in the executions of their husbands in 1995. Ogoni activists such as Dr Barinem Kiobel and Ken Saro-Wiwa were sentenced to death by the infamous Abacha regime after they had participated in peaceful protests against Shell’s disastrous and reckless pollution of Ogoniland’s Niger Delta region. Nine prominent human rights defenders and activists had faced an unfair and biased trial, which had been harshly denounced by the international community and prominent human rights organisations. The widows seek reparation and accuse Shell of not only having turned a blind eye to their husbands’ cases even though the company had evidence of the Ogoni activists’ innocence, but also of actively encouraging the Nigerian regime to crack down brutally on peaceful Ogoni protesters. read more

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Nigeria: Ogoni widows sue Shell over military crackdown

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. read more

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Widows of Nigerian activists launch civil case against Shell

June 29 at 5:50 AM THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The widows of four activists executed 22 years ago in Nigeria are launching a civil action in the Netherlands, alleging complicity by oil giant Shell in their husbands’ deaths, human rights organization Amnesty International said Thursday.

Amnesty said that Esther Kiobel is bringing the civil case at a court in The Hague along with Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula. The women are seeking a public apology and compensation.

Their husbands were among nine activists from the Ogoni tribe, led by writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, who were hanged in 1995 for the murder of four political rivals. Supporters say they were really targeted because of their involvement in protests against environmental damage by Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary. read more

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Shell faces court over Ogoni deaths

Royal Dutch Shell is facing a fresh legal challenge over alleged complicity in the execution of nine people killed by the Nigerian government after protests against the oil industry in the 1990s.

Esther Kiobel the widow of one of the “Ogoni nine”, has brought a civil case in the Netherlands. She fought a legal battle to have the case heard in the United States, but it was rejected in 2013.

In 2009 Shell agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle a separate action over the deaths, but it denied the allegations. read more

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‎Widows of Ogoni leaders killed by Abacha sue Shell in Netherlands

Oladeinde Olawoyin

The widows of four of nine men executed by Nigeria’s military regime in 1995 have filed a civil lawsuit seeking compensation and an apology from Royal Dutch Shell.

The widows are Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula.

According to a writ filed in a court in The Hague, the widows are seeking compensation from the company for alleged complicity in a military crackdown, leading to the deaths of their husbands.

The Nigerian military cracked down heavily on local opposition to oil production by a Shell joint venture in the Niger Delta region in the early 1990s. read more

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Nigerian widows seek to sue Shell in Dutch courts

Shell was alleged to have helped in the arrest of Nigerian men who had sought to peacefully disrupt oil development in the region because of health and environmental impacts

Four Nigerian women are taking legal action in the Dutch courts against Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell accusing it of complicity in the 1990s executions of their husbands by the Nigerian military, Amnesty International said Thursday.

The civil case has been brought by Esther Kiobel, the widow of Barinem Kiobel, who was hanged in 1995 along with writer and campaigner Ken Saro-Wiwa and seven others. Three other widows are also joining the action in The Hague.

A writ was set to be placed before a civil court in The Hague on Thursday alleging that Shell was complicit “in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of nine men who were hanged by Nigeria’s military government in the 1990s,” Amnesty said in a statement. read more

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Ogoni widows file civil writ accusing Shell of complicity in Nigeria killings

The widows of men who were hanged by Nigeria’s military government in the 1990s have launched a civil case against Shell, accusing it of complicity in their husbands’ executions.

Esther Kiobel, the widow of Dr Barinem Kiobel, and three other women whose husbands were hanged in 1995, served a writ in a Dutch court this week, following a 20-year battle with the oil giant.

Kiobel’s husband was executed along with the writer and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and seven other men, who became collectively known as the Ogoni nine. They were hanged in a military court following a peaceful uprising by 300,000 Ogonis against Shell’s widespread pollution in Ogoniland. read more

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Shitstorm of Nigeria related litigation hits Shell

Shell is facing what Americans might describe as a shitstorm of lawsuits arising from its Nigerian activities since the 1950’s. Litigation is current or pending in Nigeria, the USA, Italy, the UK and the Netherlands.

READ ARTICLE

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Shell’s attorneys ordered to give Nigerian activist’s widow files for Dutch lawsuit

By REUTERSPUBLISHED: 21:04, 11 January 2017

By Tom Bergin

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) – The widow of an activist executed after protesting against Royal Dutch Shell’s oil production in Nigeria has won access to legal documents for use in a legal case for damages against the oil giant that she says she plans to launch in the Netherlands.

A U.S. judge in December told Shell’s U.S. lawyers to give Esther Kiobel documents about Shell’s activities in Nigeria, according to her lawyers and a court transcript obtained by protest website royaldutchshellplc.com and seen by Reuters. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell case may launch wave of lawsuits

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By Emily Gosden, energy editor: 19 NOVEMBER 2016 

Royal Dutch Shell is facing a High Court battle over alleged environmental damage from its oil pipelines in Nigeria, in a test case that could open the floodgates to more multinationals being sued in London courts.

The oil giant and its subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), are both being sued by two Nigerian communities, who are seeking about £100m in compensation after suffering repeated oil spills they claim came from SPDC pipelines in the Niger Delta. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

21st Anniversary Commemoration of Ogoni Martyrs

screen-shot-2016-10-19-at-10-26-17Text of a Statement By Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, President of MOSOP,  on the Occasion of the Memorial Service held  on November 11, 2016, in Bane, Ogoniland, for the 21st Anniversary Commemoration of Ogoni Martyrs and the passing away of Ken Wiwa Jr.

On 10th November 1995, the Ogoni nation suffered a devastating blow. The Nigeria government and Shell murdered nine Ogoni sons in cold blood for standing up for the truth and for justice. That action routed the world to see things for the first time in the way that we saw things. That singular action exposed the deep abyss of bestiality and brigandage in which Nigeria had sunk. That action signaled to the world that groups like the Ogoni people are imperiled and may not get justice, dignity and any sense of decency in this country called Nigeria. It demonstrated that the Nigeria system was not working for most of its people. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Ten years since Garda baton charge on peaceful protestors

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The 10th of November 2006 was chosen by the Shell to Sea campaign as a suitable day of action as it marked the anniversary of the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa and 8 other Ogoni activists who opposed Shell in Nigeria.

In 2007, following the baton charge and other incidents in which people were injured, GSOC sought to do a “policies and practices” investigation into the policing of Shell/Corrib protests. However, the then Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan denied GSOC permission to carry out this investigation. As the 2010 Frontline report stated this created “the impression that the State does not want the Garda Síochána held properly to account over the policing of the Corrib dispute”. [2] read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch conspired with the Nigerian government

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Esther Kiobel filed a briefin the Southern District of New York on October 12 seeking permission to issue subpoenas against Cravath, Swaine & Moore. The request was for the production of documents for a lawsuit expected to be filed in the Netherlands. The lawsuit is connected to a previous case in which Kiobel was a lead plaintiff, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum. In this case, Kiobel alleged human rights and civil liberty violations against the oil and gas giant’s operations in Nigeria’s Ogoni region. The Dutch case, expected to be filed in late 2016, intends to allege that Royal Dutch conspired with the Nigerian government to commit human rights violations against the Ogoni people. Cravath represented Royal Dutch in the U.S lawsuits and this application intends to obtain the discovery from those cases. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Son of Nigeria’s Ken Saro-Wiwa dies

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screen-shot-2016-10-19-at-10-26-1719 October 2016

The son of renowned Nigerian environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed more than 20 years ago, has died in London.

Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr, 47, passed away after suffering a stroke, his family say.

He was a journalist who became a presidential adviser.

The 1995 execution of his father by a military government for leading protests against environmental degradation caused by the oil industry sparked global outrage.

Saro-Wiwa Sr led the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), which accused oil multinational Shell of destroying the environment in his home region of Ogoniland in south-eastern Nigeria. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Esther Kiobel Torture Case Against Shell Returns to NYC: John Donovan’s role

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US COURT DOCUMENT FILED 12 OCTOBER 2016

Published Friday 14 October 2016.

MANHATTAN (CN) — Dusting off Supreme Court defeat following one of biggest human-rights battles in decades, a Nigerian woman accusing Royal Dutch Shell of conspiring to torture environmental activists in her homeland returned to New York to prepare for new litigation in the Netherlands.

Esther Kiobel filed her latest lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday, seeking information to take on the oil giant near its international headquarters. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell faces possible Dutch lawsuit over Nigerian activist’s execution

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By Tom Bergin | LONDON

The widow of a Nigerian activist is planning to sue Royal Dutch Shell in the Dutch courts alleging the oil company was complicit in the execution of her husband by the Nigerian military in 1995, court documents filed in the United States last week show.

Esther Kiobel has filed an application in New York to secure documents from Shell’s U.S. lawyers, which she could use in the Dutch action.

The filings with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Court of New York said she planned to begin that action before the end of the year. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Nothing New About Shell Settling Fraud Cases

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From April 2016:

Shell guilty of energy fraud and market manipulation in the US

From August 2004:

Shell settles fraud case for $150M

Oil company agrees to pay SEC for overstating reserves, also settles market abuse case in Britain.

The settlements are not just for fraud but range all the way to complicity in murder.

New York Times: “Shell Settles Dumping Suit for $3 Million“: 9 February 1995

New York Times: “SHELL SETTLES ROYALTIES CASE FOR $33.5 MILLION“: 21 March 2002

Shell Oil Company Limestone Township $26 million settlement: December 2007

Plaintiffs win $66 million from Shell Oil after making the mistake of relying on Shell’s “honesty and integrity”: 17 May 2008

Houston Chronicle: Shell will pay millions to settle air pollution suit: 23 April 2009

Guardian: Shell agrees to pay compensation for execution of Saro-Wiwa: June 2009 read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Nigerians sue Shell in UK court over oil spills contamination

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London law firm Leigh Day & Co. is representing them after winning an unprecedented $83.5 million in damages from Shell in a landmark ruling by the same court last year. Shell originally offered villagers $50,000.

In a statement Wednesday before the trial opened, Shell blamed sabotage and oil theft for the ongoing pollution and noted it had halted oil production in 1993 in Ogoniland, the area where the two communities are located in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern Niger Delta.

Shell said it will challenge the jurisdiction of the British court. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell braced for a flood of compensation claims

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Screen Shot 2015-12-19 at 14.30.30By ROB DAVIES FOR THE DAILY MAIL19 December 2015

Royal Dutch Shell is braced for a flood of compensation claims against its Nigerian business over oil spills, after a ruling that makes it more vulnerable to lawsuits.

Judges in The Hague, Netherlands, ordered Shell to hand over documents that could shed light on the cause of spills, which the firm blamed on sabotage by oil thieves.

The ruling is a blow for Shell, which had argued that cases against its Nigerian joint venture SPDC should be heard in Nigeria where the plaintiffs are based, and where companies cannot be held responsible for spills caused by sabotage. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Ken Saro-Wiwa 20th Anniversary Commemoration

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Afri organised a protest at Shell HQ in Dublin on Nov. 10th to mark the 20th anniversary of the execution of the Ogoni 9. The execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and his colleagues was carried out by the Nigerian military dictatorship with the collusion of Shell. Shell’s disregard for human rights and the environment continues in Ogoniland and elsewhere throughout the world including Erris, Co. Mayo.

YouTube Video

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Extra Judicial Death of Ken Saro-Wiwa & all the Ogoni 9

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Screen Shot 2015-11-11 at 13.47.0710 Nov 2015, Dublin Ireland

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Shell to Sea Activists and AFRI commemorated the 20th Anniversary of the deaths of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine outside “Corrib House:” Shell’s Irish Headquarters in Dublin. The activists carried crosses bearing the names of each of the men executed by the corrupt Nigerian Government on 10 November 1995. Many sources believe that these executions were done at the behest of Shell. Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people, had been actively leading successful civil society actions and demonstrations thwarting Shell’s development of oil on the land of these indigenous farmers and fishermen. Even though it hasn’t been explicitly proven that Shell ordered the killing… they did benefit from the outcome and later paid reparations to the families. (In 2009 Shell settled out of court to the tune of 15.5 million dollars to the families of the victims to avoid going to court in the USA.) read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell must pay full cost of Saro-Wiwa’s murder, polluting Ogoniland, activists demand

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November 11, 2015Ben Ezeamalu

A coalition of civil societies have demanded that Shell be made to pay “the full cost” for the murder of the Ogoni playwright and activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight others and the pollution of Ogoniland.

At a joint press conference in Port Harcourt, Tuesday, the Social Action, Ogoni Solidarity Forum, Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, and the Friends of the Earth International urged the Nigerian government to immediately implement the United Nations Environmental Programme report on Ogoniland. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Nigeria oil pollution still menaces 20 years after activist’s hanging, Shell cleanup vows

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WARRI, NIGERIA – Twenty years after a Nigerian military dictatorship hanged activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, his Niger Delta homeland remains blighted by oil pollution.

Thousands of lives have been wrecked, according to Amnesty International, as oil slicks killed the fish, crude-crusted soil stunted crops and oil flare-ups polluted lungs.

Gen. Sani Abacha’s regime hanged Saro-Wiwa, 54, and seven other Ogoni leaders on trumped-up murder charges. “Judicial murder,” charged then-British Prime Minister John Major. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Ken Saro-Wiwa’s widow talks about execution 20 years on

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By Yvonne Ndege | Al Jazeera 

A memorial march is due to be held in Nigeria for a champion of the environment who confronted one of the world’s biggest oil companies – and was then hanged.

It is the 20th anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa, who campaigned against oil pollution in the oil rich Niger Delta by Royal Dutch Shell.

He was sentenced to death after being found guilty of involvement in four murders – in a case condemned as a sham and after international appeals for clemency. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.