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Amnesty International

Amnesty International Report: On Trial: Shell in Nigeria: Conclusions and Recommendations

FROM PAGES 28 & 29

These cases are important for what they mean for the individuals and communities involved. They could also set important precedents on the responsibility of companies for their overseas operations, which would open the way for further litigation not only against Shell but other multinational corporations as well.

They are also placing a much-needed spotlight on Shell’s business model in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s regulation of the oil industry is undoubtedly weak and lacks independence. Government agencies responsible for industry regulation and enforcement are under-resourced, ineffective and in some cases compromised by conflicts of interest. Its own courts have failed to offer the victims of human rights abuses a meaningful avenue for seeking justice for the oil spills that have blighted the Niger Delta and the lives and livelihoods of its communities. Shell has thus avoided being held effectively to account in Nigeria. read more

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: THE “OPL 245” BRIBERY CASE

3.3 THE “OPL 245” BRIBERY CASE

In 2018, Italian prosecutors brought a criminal case over the alleged involvement of Shell, and the Italian oil multinational Eni, in a 1.3 billion US dollar bribery scheme linked to the license of OPL 245. This is the name of one of Nigeria’s most valuable offshore oil blocks.

Thirteen individuals, including some current and former senior managers of Shell and the Italian oil company Eni, are currently on trial in Italy relating to how the two companies acquired the block in 2011.80 The defendants include both companies, a former Royal Dutch Shell Executive Board Member and two former MI6 agents who worked for Shell.81 read more

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NIGERIAN FARMERS ENVIRONMENTAL CASES AGAINST SHELL

Thousands of barrels of oil spouted out of the broken pipeline at Bodo for 10 weeks before Shell finally clamped it on 7 November 2008. © CEHRD

Pastor Christian Kpandei contemplates the damage done to his fish farm in Bodo, Nigeria, May 2011. The farm flourished before the August 2008 oil spill, but the pollution destroyed his fish farm, leaving him and his workers without a regular income. © Amnesty International

3.2.1 FOUR FARMERS’ CASES

The first of the pollution-related cases marked the first time that any Dutch company had been sued in the Dutch court for the operations of its subsidiaries overseas.

In 2008, four Nigerian farmers (Eric Barizaa Dooh, Fidelis Ayoro Oguru, Alali Efanga and Friday Alfred Akpan), along with Milieudefensie, the Dutch section of Friends of the Earth, filed claims against RDS and SPDC.44

They are seeking to obtain compensation for alleged damage to fish ponds and land caused by oil spills from two underground pipelines and an oil well operated by Shell in the villages of Goi, Ikot Ada Udo and Oruma between 2004 and 2007.45 read more

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Amnesty International: Environmental cases against Shell

Oil pollution in Kegbara-Dere (K-Dere) community in Ogoniland, Rivers State, Niger Delta, Nigeria. This community has experienced multiple oil spills since Shell started operations there in the 1960s. September 2015. © Michael Uwemedimo/cmapping.net
Shell’s pipelines in Ogoniland are old and poorly maintained. There have been several spills and in 2009 there was a huge fire, at the Bomu Manifold, at K. Dere, Rivers state. September 2015. © Michael Uwemedimo/cmapping.net
Dead periwinkles covered in oily mud from Bodo creek, Nigeria, May 2011. There were two massives spills in August 2009 from a poorly maintained Shell pipeline. © Amnesty International
Signboard warning people not to enter stream that has been contaminated by oil spills, Ogale, Rivers State, Nigeria. Every year there are hundreds of spills in the Niger Delta, and clean-up is often slow and ineffective. © Amnesty International

3.2 ENVIRONMENTAL CASES (Pages 16, 17, 18 & 10)

There are three separate legal proceedings taking place against Shell in Dutch and British courts relating to oil pollution. This has devastated the Niger Delta.

Data from Shell’s own spill incident reports reveal that from 2011-18 the company reported a huge number of spills – 1,010 – along the network of pipelines and wells that it operates.25 Spills have a variety of causes – from third-party tampering, to operational faults and corrosion of aged facilities. Shell blames most spills on theft and pipeline sabotage, and are not due to its own negligence.26 read more

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Litigation: KIOBEL AND OTHERS V SHELL

Esther Kiobel and Victoria Bera sit with their lawyer as a Dutch court hears the first arguments in an historic case against Shell, in which the oil giant stands accused of instigating a raft of horrifying human rights violations committed by the Nigerian government against the Ogoni people in the 1990s, on February 12, 2019 in The Hague, Netherlands. © Pierre Crom/Getty Images

 KIOBEL AND OTHERS V SHELL

Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta were first, and most effectively, put under the spotlight in the 1990s by Ken Saro-Wiwa, an acclaimed Nigerian writer. Saro-Wiwa led a community organisation in his home area, Ogoniland, called the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). MOSOP said that while outsiders had grown rich on the oil that was pumped from under their soil, pollution from oil spills and gas flaring had, “led to the complete degradation of the Ogoni environment, turning our homeland into an ecological disaster.”10 read more

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Amnesty International: KEY FACTS ABOUT SHELL IN NIGERIA

Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer.4

Its industry is based in the Niger Delta, in the south of the country, where Shell first found oil in commercially viable quantities near the village of Oloibori in 1956, when Nigeria was still a British colony.5

The Niger Delta has since become Africa’s most valuable oil-producing region.

The industry is run by joint ventures between the Nigerian government and multinational companies. Shell has always been the most important of these. Shell runs its oil operations in Nigeria through its subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). It is a major shareholder and the operator of the country’s largest joint venture, which produces almost 40 percent of Nigeria’s oil.6 read more

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Amnesty International Report: ON TRIAL: SHELL IN NIGERIA

On 28 August 2008 a fault in the Trans-Niger pipeline resulted in a massive oil spill into Bodo Creek in Ogoniland. The oil poured into the swamp and creek for weeks, covering the area in a thick slick of oil and killing the fish that people depend on for food and for their livelihood. © CEHRD

Amnesty International has been conducting research on human rights abuses linked to the oil industry in the Niger Delta since the mid-1990s.1 Working jointly with the Port Harcourt-based Centre for the Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), this has included investigations into the cause and impact of pollution in Ogale and Bodo, which are two of the communities that have brought cases against Shell.2 Amnesty International has also investigated Shell’s role in the military crackdown of the 1990s, reviewing thousands of pages of court depositions and internal company documents.3 read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

ON TRIAL: SHELL IN NIGERIA: LEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST THE OIL MULTINATIONAL

Cover photo: A Dutch court hears the first arguments in an historic case against Shell, in which the oil giant stands accused of instigating a raft of horrifying human rights violations committed by the Nigerian government against the Ogoni people in the 1990s, on February 12, 2019 in The Hague, Netherlands. © Pierre Crom/Getty Images

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.

Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations.

Since Shell first discovered oil near the village of Oloibiri in 1956, the Niger Delta has become Africa’s most valuable oil-producing region and the Anglo-Dutch giant has earned billions of dollars. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Nigeria: 2020 could be Shell’s year of reckoning

10 February 2020, 00:01 UTC

In 2020 Shell will face unprecedented legal scrutiny over decades of human rights abuses in Nigeria, Amnesty International said today, as the oil giant braces itself for conclusions in a string of European court battles. Allegations range from complicity in unlawful executions to systemic pollution and environmental damage in the Niger Delta.

(RELATED: Investigate Shell for complicity in murder, rape and torture)

Amnesty International has been researching Shell’s activities in the Niger Delta for more than 20 years, compiling compelling evidence of the company’s role in human rights abuses. In a report released today, the organization highlights the various cases that are finally putting Shell’s harmful operations in Nigeria on trial. read more

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In a dangerous world, human rights activists have been winning all year

18 December 2019, 15:02 UTC

With inequality, injustice and hate speech seemingly ever more prevalent across the globe, you’d be forgiven for thinking 2019 has been a bad year for human rights. Yet, we have also seen some significant wins. Activists the world over have been galvanised to stand up and fight for our human rights – and thanks to their relentless campaigning we achieved some striking leaps forward.

The District Court of The Hague issued an interim ruling in favour of Esther Kiobel and three other women who took on one of the world’s biggest oil companies, Shell, in a fight for justice. Esther has pursued the company for more than 20 years over the role she says it played in the arbitrary execution of her husband in Nigeria. Amnesty has shared over 30,000 solidarity messages with Esther Kiobel, and is supporting her Kiobel vs Shell case in The Hague. As a result of this hearing, the court in October 2019 heard for the first time the accounts of 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. read more

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Esther Kiobel expresses her thanks to Amnesty International and other parties supporting her lawsuit against Shell

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Esther Kiobel expresses her sincere thanks to Amnesty International and other parties supporting her Dutch lawsuit against Shell

A heartfelt message of thanks from Esther Kiobel

It has been a very hard road and long, long journey in the fight for fundamental rights of my late husband, Honorable Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel and other distinguished Ogonis who have suffered the most horrific abuses or murdered by the former Nigerian junta to help their exclusive collaborators. Shell Oil Corporation continue the exploitation of Nigerian crude oil resources under the most reckless human rights abuses ever imagined. read more

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BLOOMBERG: Shell Units Fighting U.K. Lawsuit Over Nigerian Oil Spill

By Ellen Milligan: 8 October 2019, 14:39 BST

Two Royal Dutch Shell Plc units were sued over their involvement in one of the largest oil spills in Nigeria’s history.

Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Co. and Shell International Trading & Shipping Co. allegedly undermined the emergency response to the spill eight years ago and made inadequate efforts to contain it, according to lawyers for the Oil Spill Victims Vanguard.

“That oil, which has never properly been cleaned up, continues to blight the claimants, their environments, livelihoods and communities to this day,” lawyer Graham Dunning said in court documents. read more

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Nigeria/Netherlands: Kiobel witness hearing key chance to hold Shell to account over human rights abuses

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. read more

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Kiobel v Shell case resumes today in Dutch court

Nigeria/Netherlands: witnesses heard in landmark case scutinising Shell’s role in execution of Ogoni Nine

Shell accused of complicity in execution of nine men in Nigeria in the 1990s

Witness hearing a key chance to hold Shell to account

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 today (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.

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. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Pollution: Niger Delta Communities Drag Shell To UK Supreme Court

According to Shell’s records, the community has been impacted by at least 40 oil spills from Shell’s pipelines and equipment since 1989, including 23 spills in the past 4 years. Shell’s pipelines and infrastructure in Ogale are several decades old and in a poor state of repair making the area vulnerable to oil spills which have caused, and continue to cause, long-term contamination of the land, swamps, groundwater and waterways in the Community.

The Supreme Court hearing will appeal a judgment from February 2018, from the Court of Appeal in London, which upheld an earlier High Court judgment, that the English Court does not have jurisdiction over the claims.

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK JUL 24, 2019

Lawyers representing 40,000 Nigerian farmers and fisherman from two communities in the Niger Delta have been permitted to take their legal claim against the oil giant Shell to the UK Supreme Court.

The decision will allow the two communities from Bille and Ogale in the Niger Delta to appeal to the UK’s highest court, having suffered from decades of pollution from Shell’s pipelines.

They have taken their case to the English Courts on the basis that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), which is headquartered in London, is legally responsible for the environmental failures of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), a subsidiary of RDS. read more

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After 25 years, a Nigerian widow still seeks justice for her husband and the rest of the Ogoni Nine

“We know that Shell had its own surveillance operation and that these operatives had received training from Nigeria’s Internal Security Agency, which itself was directly responsible for a number of human rights violations, such as arbitrary killings, rape, destruction of property, burning of homes — not just crimes under international law or human rights violations, but also crimes under domestic law.”

kwbu 103.3FM Heart of Texas Public Radio: Living on Earth: July 05, 2019 · 11:00 AM EDT: Writer Adam Wernick: This article is based on an interview that aired on PRI’s Living on Earth with Steve Curwood.

Esther Kiobel (centre) and Victoria Bera (right) with their lawyer Channa Samkalden for the verdict at the court in The Hague. Photo: Bart Hoogveld for the FD (the Dutch Financial Times)

This May, Esther Kiobel came one step closer to justice in her battle against the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company. read more

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