World Mining Exploration News

For Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr., returned to Nigeria from exile in 1999, the trial could provide bittersweet vindication of his father campaign. “My father always said that one day Shell would be on trial, “said Mr. Saro-Wiwa, who now works as an adviser to the government on community issues. “it’s important for those involved in the conspiracy against my father to be held to account. It’s a communal exorcism, if you like, for Shell to account and bear responsibility for what it did.”

The elder Mr. Saro-Wiwa, who founded the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni Peoples in 1990, was one of the most vocal critics of Shell for the damage done to the delta communities, including gas flaring and the destruction of mangroves to make way for pipelines.

According to the lawsuit, a Shell official identified Mr. Saro-Wiwa as being “influential” in organizing the protest and sought the assistance of the Nigerian government to silence him.

The company is also accused of paying soldier who committed human rights abuses and providing them with transportation. During a military raid, one plaintiff, Karalolo Kogbara, was shot by Nigerian troops while she was speaking out against the destruction of crops bulldozed to build a pipeline.

“We are not saying that Shell just did business in a bad place,” said Jennie Greene, a lawyer with the Center for Constitutional Rights. “Shell was an actor here. Shell wasn’t just standing by.”

Mr. Saro_Wiwa was arrested in 1994 and put on trial before a special military court along with the other Ogoni advocates, on charges that human rights groups and Western governments said were trumped up. Despite international pressure, Shell initially refused to intervene, saying at the time, ” the company does not get involved in politics.”

The lawsuit charges that Shell bribed at least two crucial witnesses to change their testimony during the trial. It also assert that Shell’s manager in Nigeria at the time, Brian Anderson, met with Owens Saro-Wiwa, Mr. Saro-Wiwa’s brother and also a plaintiff, and tried to pressure the jailed activist to abandon his struggle in exchange for help in securing his release. Mr. Saro-Wiwa reportedly refused.