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”. The organisation alleges Shell gave the military “logistical support” including transport and, on at least one occasion, paid a military commander notorious for human rights violations. An individual or company can be held criminally responsible for a crime if they encourage, enable, exacerbate or facilitate it. Amnesty’s new report, A Criminal Enterprise?, alleges that Shell was involved in crimes committed in Ogoniland in this way.
A review of thousands of internal company documents and witness statements published on Tuesday points to the Anglo-Dutch organisation’s involvement in the brutal campaign to silence protesters in the oil-producing Ogoniland region in the 1990s.
A review of thousands of internal company documents and witness statements published on Tuesday points to the Anglo-Dutch organisation’s involvement in the brutal campaign to silence protesters in the oil-producing Ogoniland region in the 1990s.
Witness statements allege Shell managed a unit of undercover police officers, trained by the Nigerian state security service, to carry out surveillance in Ogoniland after the oil company had publicly announced its withdrawal from the region. Shell stopped operations in Ogoniland in early 1993 citing security concerns but “subsequently sought ways to re-enter the region and end the protests by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, Mosop”, claims Amnesty.
On 30 April 1993 troops guarding Shell’s contractors opened fire on protesters injuring 11 people, and a man was fatally shot at Nonwa village in a separate incident several days later. In the brutal backlash that followed by Nigeria’s military police, about 1,000 people were killed and 30,000 made homeless after villages were destroyed.
Audrey Gaughran, director of global issues at Amnesty, said: “The evidence shows Shell repeatedly encouraged the Nigerian military to deal with community protests, even when it knew the horrors this would lead to – unlawful killings, rape, torture and the burning of villages. It is indisputable that Shell played a key role in the devastating events in Ogoniland in the 1990s but we now believe there are grounds for a criminal investigation.” She added: “Bringing all the evidence together was the first step. We will now be preparing a criminal file to submit to the relevant authorities with a view to prosecution.”
Mark Dummett, a researcher for Amnesty, said: “The fact Shell was running a shady undercover unit and then passing on information to the Nigerian security agency is incredibly disturbing. This was a time when Nigeria was cracking down on peaceful protesters, and there must have been a risk that information gathered by Shell’s secret spy unit contributed to grave human rights violations." He added: “The revelations show how close and insidious the relationship was between the oil company and the Nigerian state, and Shell has serious questions to answer.”
The Nigerian government’s campaign against the Ogoni people culminated in the execution 22 years ago of nine Ogoni men, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, who had led the protests. Their deaths sparked a global outcry with claims their trial had been unfair. In his final words to the tribunal that convicted him, Ken Saro-Wiwa warned that Shell would face its own day in court.
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