SHELL AND OGONI IN UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT RULING

by

MOSOP[UK]

“........I repeat that we all stand before history. I and my colleagues are not the only ones on trial. Shell is here on trial and it is as well that it is represented by counsel said to be holding a watching brief. The company has, indeed, ducked this particular trial, but its day will surely come ……there is no doubt in my mind that the ecological war the company has waged in the delta will be called to question sooner than later and the crimes of that war duly punished. The crimes of the company’s dirty wars against the Ogoni people will also be punished......”

Ken Saro Wiwa – Port Harcourt, 21st September, 1995. Excerpt from Ken’s last statement to Justice Auta’s kangaroo Tribunal.

Multibillion oil company Shell will be sued for its environmental crimes against the Ogonis in New York. A ruling in the US Supreme Court of 26th March upheld an earlier decision by the federal court. Shell – the oil giant with declared profit of 9 billion British pounds sterling in 2000 - should be sued in the US on human rights grounds.

Included in the suit by relatives of the murdered activists are the following: 1. Shell took land without paying proper compensation 2. Shell polluted the Ogoni atmosphere 3. Shell paid the police to suppress Ogoni protest and opposition 4. Shell fabricated evidence to support murder charges against Ogoni activists which led to the hanging of 9 Ogoni leaders.

“This is one of the best news Ogonis have heard in a long time. Just as predicted above by the Ogoni leader Ken Saro Wiwa in 1995, a day of reckoning has come for Shell to account for its gory activities of 40 years in Ogoniland.” Said Mrs Gbenewa Phido, President of MOSOP-UK.”

By 1993, Shell had mined oil from Ogoni worth an estimated $60 billion. In spite of the enormous wealth drained from this community, it remains one of Niger Delta’s most deprived and under-developed community. Ogoni remains a poverty stricken land. There continues to be lack of electricity, water, schools, hospitals and employment opportunities in the community. Ogonis on taking stock of their situation had protested non-violently against this unfair treatment by both the Nigerian Government and its oil producing companies. Shell had seen this protest as a bruise on its ego and taint on its highly guarded reputation. For this reason Ogonis had to be stopped in a most drastic and brutal way to serve as an example to other communities.

This initiated the deadly might of the Nigerian Military and Shell to quash the Ogoni protest. The aftermath of this coalition was the death of over 3,000 innocent and defenceless Ogonis. Shell confessed to Oputa human rights commission in Nigeria of buying arms and financing the military to kill Ogonis.

“Shell has confirmed apportioning more value to the flow of oil than the flow of Ogoni blood. The senseless and callous action of this multibillion company must be brought to book and punished and there is no better place than a court of law.” Says Mrs Phido. For these reasons and more, Ogonis have vowed never to let Shell into their land again. Shell is however adamant about this and still insist on returning to Ogoni to drill the last drop of oil. A view Mrs Phido is vehemently opposed to. According to her, “Shell remains ‘persona non grata’ in Ogoni. Shell should be prepared to kill all generations of Ogoni before it can have access to our natural resources again. We believe 40 years is enough time for a people to be held in captivity as is our experience with Shell.” she said.

Mrs Phido continued “Shell in the US Court of justice is a welcome change to the sufferings endured by the Ogonis over the years. We want to see justice done for the blood that Ken Saro Wiwa and the other Ogonis shed on our land.” “We demand that justice be done to the people of Ogoni who have endured decades of exploitation from this multibillion company whose sole interest is profit at the expense of the masses. For destroying our environment and allowing generations of Ogonis to wallow in poverty Shell must answer and pay for its crimes in Ogoni.” She continued.

On a related issue regarding the environmental award being given to Shell by WEC, Mrs Phido said "Shell can buy as many awards as money can buy but it will never change the reality and history of its ruthless and greedy activities in Ogoni and other parts of the world where the truth speaks for itself." "MOSOP-UK organised a worldwide petition against this award which has produced over 5,000 signatories as at the last count. This petition will be forwarded to the United Nation, WEC, UNEC and many other international organisations. We are confident that Shell will be disqualified from this award especially now that it has to answer to its environmental crimes in the United States courts." Mrs Phido concluded.

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) UK

P.O. BOX 22067, LONDON SW2 5WR, UK 

TEL: +44 (20) 8539 9050 

FAX/PHONE: +44 (20) 7737 1550 

CELL/MOBILE PHONE: 07968 965 760 

E-MAIL: mosopgb@hotmail.com 

Web site: www.mosopcanada.org

contacts: Mrs Phido, Mr Harrison Neenwi