A witness hearing examining Shell’s role in the execution of nine men in Nigeria in the 1990s is a key opportunity to hold the oil giant to account over its alleged complicity in human rights abuses, Amnesty International said.
The Kiobel v Shell case resumes at The Hague on 8 October and will for the first time hear accounts from individuals who accuse Shell of offering them bribes to give fake testimonies that led to the ‘Ogoni Nine’ – who included Esther Kiobel’s husband – being sentenced to death and executed.
“For more than twenty years Shell has escaped scrutiny over its role in these tragic events. We applaud the courage and persistence of Esther Kiobel and the other women who have brought this case,” said Mark Dummett, Business and Human Rights Researcher at Amnesty International.
“This case exemplifies how hard it can be for the victims of human rights abuses to hold a powerful multinational corporation to account.”
Esther Kiobel and three other women – Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula – accuse Shell of being complicit in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of their husbands. The men were hanged in 1995 along with renowned activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and four other men after they were convicted in a blatantly unfair trial.
The ‘Ogoni Nine’, as they were known, were accused of being involved in the murder of four Ogoni chiefs known to be opponents of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). Led by Ken Saro-Wiwa, MOSOP had protested against oil pollution caused by Shell’s operations in the Ogoniland region.
“These four Nigerian widows represent the cause of the Ogoni Nine, as well as countless residents of the Niger Delta who feel that their rights have been trampled on by Shell,” said Mark Dummett.