By Desmond Davis, GNA London Bureau Chief
London, May 13, GNA – Four Nigerian women who are challenging Shell over the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of their husbands in Nigeria have been told that their case against the oil giant can be heard in a Dutch court.
The District Court of The Hague ruled recently that it has jurisdiction over the matter and that the case should not be time barred.
Shell has been accused of encouraging human rights violations committed by the Nigerian government in the 1990s against the Ogoni people protesting against Shell’s devastating pollution of the region.
Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula are suing Shell over what they say is its role in the actions against their husbands by the Nigerian military, following a brutal crackdown on the protests.
The court also ruled that Shell should hand over some confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, and that they would examine witnesses.
Mark Dummett, Amnesty International’s Head of Business and Human Rights, said:
“This decision marks a vital step towards justice for Esther and the other plaintiffs.
“It also sets an important precedent for other victims around the world who are seeking to hold powerful corporations to account, and who struggle to access justice.
“We salute Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula.
“It’s only because of their courage and persistence that we’ve got this far.”
Amnesty International has independently documented Shell’s role in killings, rape and torture carried out by the Nigerian government in its effort to crush protests.
“The women believe their husbands would still be alive today were it not for Shell’s relentless pursuit of profit, which encouraged the Nigerian government’s bloody crackdown on protesters even when it knew the deadly human cost,” Mr Dummett said “Shell might now face questioning in a court of law about what they knew and how they contributed to this horrifying event in Nigerian history.
"Today’s ruling will have great significance for people everywhere who have been harmed by the greed and recklessness of global corporations.”
Mrs Kiobel first filed a case against Shell in New York in 2002, but in 2013 the US Supreme Court ruled that the US did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
This meant that US courts never got to examine the substance of the allegations against Shell.
Amnesty International has praised Mrs Kiobel’s effort in taking on one of the world’s biggest oil companies “in a final fight for justice”.
Barinem Kiobel, Baribor Bera, Nordu Eawo and Paul Levula were hanged in 1995 after what observers said was an unfair trial.
Their widows are now demanding compensation and a public apology from Shell for the role the company played in these events.
Five other men, including protest leader and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, were executed alongside them, and they became known as the Ogoni Nine.
The protests by the Ogoni people were in response to decades of Shell’s pollution of their region.
Military dictator General Sani Abacha unleashed government security forces on the protesters.
Shell was accused of urging the government to deal with these protests even after the oil company knew that serious abuses were taking place.
With the recent ruling in The Hague, documents marked as confidential by Shell during the US proceedings between 2002 and 2013, which are crucial to the case, will now be made public.
Amnesty International supported Mrs Kiobel in taking the case to the Netherlands in 2017.
GNA
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS