A landmark human rights lawsuit, accusing Royal Dutch Shell of complicity in the execution of author and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa some 14 years ago, will proceed to trial in a New York courtroom.
The Center for Constitutional Rights and Earth Rights International, along with Mr. Wiwa's son, allege the International oil company "financed, armed, and otherwise colluded with the Nigerian military forces that used deadly force and conducted massive, brutal raids against the Ogoni people of the Niger Delta."
They claim Shell was complicit in the 1995 military executions of nine activist leaders, including Ken Saro-Wiwa.
"Shell began oil production in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in 1958," the groups say on a new Web site dedicated to promoting the suit. "After more than 30 years of environmental devastation and exploitation by Shell, a popular nonviolent movement of the Ogoni people developed in the early 1990s in opposition to its presence in the region. At the request of Shell, and with Shell’s assistance and financing, Nigerian soldiers used deadly force and massive, brutal raids against the Ogoni people throughout the early 1990s to repress the growing movement against the oil company."
Also see The Niger Delta Oil War: What Does it Take to Get the World’s Attention? on zendiplomat.com