Ogoni, justice at last?

Four Nigerian women at the centre of a long-running legal battle against oil giant Royal Dutch Shell saw their historic case reach the Hague on Tuesday.

The company is accused of complicity in the state execution of nine Ogoni protesters and human right abuses dating back to 1993. The allegations concern the 1990s violent government crackdown in Ogoniland, in the oil-rich Niger delta region, where oil spills inflicted environmental damage on a huge scale.

The landmark case, brought by the widows of four of the Ogoni nine – Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula – allege Shell was complicit in the Nigerian government’s policy of brutally quelling protests, and with human rights abuses that were aimed at protecting the company’s staff and infrastructure, actions that ultimately led to the death of their husbands. 

Peaceful demonstrations by Ogoni people against Shell’s widespread, devastating pollution ended in a brutal backlash by Nigerian security forces, who allegedly killed, maimed, raped and tortured hundreds of people who lived in the area.

Nine members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), including its leader, Ken Saro-Wiwa, were executed in 1995 by the Nigerian authorities, following a trial that was widely discredited. Esther Kiobel’s husband, Dr Barinem Kiobel, was one of those executed.

“Over the years, Shell has continually fought to make sure this case is not heard in court. They have the resources to fight me instead of doing justice for my husband,” said Esther Kiobel.

The 1993 military coup in Nigeria, led by General Sani Abacha, brought a clampdown on political activity, with opponents jailed or executed. A new security task force (ISTF) focused on Ogoniland, applying brute force in an effort to end the protest. During its first deployment they shot five people outside Shell’s compound at Rumuobiokani.

Amnesty International has reported that ISTF carried out up to 50 extrajudicial executions, alongside torture and rape. The government’s forces left hundreds more dead and many more homeless when villages were destroyed.

In May 1994, four Ogoni leaders – Edward N Kobani, Albert T Badey, Samuel N Orage and Theophilus B Orage – were attacked and beaten by an angry mob, who then set their corpses on fire.

Blaming the deaths on internal Mosop wrangling, ISTF arrested Saro-Wiwa, Kiobel and 12 others and charged them with incitement to murder, and murder. Nine were found guilty – Barinem Kiobel, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Baribor Bera, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbokoo, John Kpuinen, Paul Levula and Felix Nuate – and were hanged in November 1995.

Unable to seek recourse in Nigerian courts, Esther Kiobel first filed a case against Shell in the US in 2002. The company deny allegations of complicity in the death of the Ogoni nine or in the widespread human rights abuses, although it acknowledged an awareness of Nigeria’s military action to protect its infrastructure. In 2009, Shell agreed a $15.5m out-of-court settlement with the families of the dead men, stating that it was to cover their legal costs and recognition of events that took place in Ogoniland. The US court declined jurisdiction and in 2017, with the assistance of Amnesty International, the case was re-filed in the Netherlands.

Mark Dummett, researcher at Amnesty International, said: “These women believe that their husbands would still be alive today were it not for the brazen self-interest of Shell. This is an historic moment which has huge significance for people everywhere who have been harmed by the greed and recklessness of global corporations.”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/feb/12/ogoni-widows-testify-the-hague-shell-alleged-complicity-killings