A British criminal lawyer, Michael Birnbaum QC, who observed the trial, concluded that it was deeply unfair. “The judgement of the Tribunal is not merely wrong, illogical or perverse. It is downright dishonest. The Tribunal consistently advanced arguments which no experienced lawyer could possibly believe to be logical or just. I believe that the Tribunal first decided on its verdict and then sought for arguments to justify them. No barrel was too deep to be scraped.”

Extracts from pages 33 & 34 of an Amnesty International document entitled: “A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE? SHELL’S INVOLVEMENT IN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN NIGERIA IN THE 1990s”

OGONI 9: UNFAIR TRIAL AND EXECUTION

On 6 February 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Dr Barinem Kiobel and the other prisoners were allowed to see their lawyers for the first time since their arrest in May the previous year.136 They were put on trial by a specially constituted tribunal – The Civil Disturbances Tribunal. Ken Saro-Wiwa, Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, and Saro-Wiwa’s deputy in MOSOP, Ledum Mitee, were accused of inciting the murders. The other men were accused of carrying them out. They all faced the death penalty and were denied the chance to appeal. read more

By John Donovan

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has refused to reconsider its extraordinary decision barring a Nigerian activist widow Esther Kiobel, from obtaining Royal Dutch Shell discovery documents from a U.S. case, held by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, for litigation she is pursuing against the oil and gas giant in the Dutch courts.

Her husband, Dr. Barinem Kiobel, was one of the “Ogoni 9,” executed by the then Nigerian military regime on false charges. Esther Kiobel holds Shell complicit in his hanging. read more

By John Donovan

The New York Law Journal has published an article about the recent outcome of an appeal heard by the U.S. Appeals Court regarding over 100,000 discovery documents assembled by Shell in the USA for an action brought against Shell by Esther Kiobel.

That litigation, which began some 22 years ago, ended with a U.S. Supreme Court decision on subject-matter jurisdiction grounds.

In June 2017, Esther Kiobel switched the same basic litigation to the Dutch Courts and tried to obtain the Shell discovery stored in a secure warehouse by Shell’s American law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore. read more

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden stands to the left of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (the two people in the centre of the photo). 

By John Donovan

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has just given oil giant Shell a nod for a new $5bn investment deal in a major Nigerian oil and gas project.

This was after being feted by Shell senior management during his just concluded 4 day visit to the Netherlands, which including a meeting with Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden.

AFP: Nigerian leader backs major Shell project on Dutch trip: 2018-07-19 17:07 read more

Dr. Barinem Kiobel was one of the “Ogoni Nine” executed by a despotic Nigerian regime after a rigged trial. His widow, Esther Kiobel, holds Shell responsible for his murder on trumped-up charges and has been seeking justice for the last 22 years.

By John Donovan

Since 1996, various Kiobel family members have been pursuing litigation in the USA relating to Shell’s conduct in Nigeria. This fact is confirmed from the screenshot of listed court cases filed in the USA and blocked by Shell. Only one related application is still open and it is on the way to being closed as a result of a decision by a U.S. Appeals Court yesterday. The remaining case is described by the three Appeal Court judges as “extraordinary, and possibly unique.” read more

On 10 November 1995, nine men from Ogoniland, a small area within Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region, were hanged by the military authorities, after a blatantly unfair trial. Their bodies were then dumped in unmarked graves. One of them was the outspoken and acclaimed writer Kenule (Ken) Saro-Wiwa… The other men executed that day were Dr Barinem Kiobel, a former government official, and seven members and supporters of MOSOP… 

Extracts from pages 17, 18 & 19 of an Amnesty International document headed: “A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE? SHELL’S INVOLVEMENT IN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN NIGERIA IN THE 1990s”

EXTRACT BEGINS

On 10 November 1995, nine men from Ogoniland, a small area within Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region, were hanged by the military authorities, after a blatantly unfair trial. Their bodies were then dumped in unmarked graves. One of them was the outspoken and acclaimed writer Kenule (Ken) Saro-Wiwa, who had gained worldwide recognition for his leadership of a campaigning organization, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). This had drawn attention to the ecological devastation caused by decades of oil production, and the lack of economic development, in Nigeria’s oil-producing areas. The other men executed that day were Dr Barinem Kiobel, a former government official, and seven members and supporters of MOSOP: Saturday Dobee, Paul Levula, Nordu Eawo, Felix Nuate, Daniel Gbokoo, John Kpuinen and Baribor Bera. read more

Esther Kiobel, the widow of one of the nine Ogoni activists

Reporting by Libby George; Editing by Edmund Blair: NOVEMBER 28, 2017

LONDON/LAGOS (Reuters) – Amnesty International has called for a criminal investigation into the alleged role of Royal Dutch Shell in human rights abuses in Nigeria’s oil-rich Ogoniland in the 1990s, accusations the Anglo-Dutch oil company has denied. The rights group urged the British, Dutch and Nigerian governments carry out probes in a report that it said included evidence showing Shell’s involvement in suppression of protesters by the military government in the 1990s. Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) said the allegations were “false and without merit”. FULL ARTICLE read more

Esther Kiobel poses with a picture of her late husband Dr. Barinem Kiobel one of nine men executed by Nigeria’s military government after a peaceful uprising in 1995 against Shell’s widespread pollution in Ogoniland. Photograph: Amnesty International

Multiple news stories: Amnesty International demand criminal investigation of Shell complicity in Nigerian murder, torture and rape

The Guardian: Amnesty seeks criminal inquiry into Shell over alleged complicity in murder and torture in Nigeria

Extract: Amnesty International is calling for a criminal investigation into the oil giant Shell regarding allegations it was complicit in human rights abuses carried out by the Nigerian military. Amnesty is urging the UK, Nigeria and the Netherlands to consider a criminal case against Shell in light of evidence it claims amounts to “complicity in murder, rape and torture” – allegations Shell strongly denies. read more

My name is Esher Kiobel. I would like to tell you about my epic fight with the Goliath oil company Royal Dutch Shell, whose army of lawyers have battled since 2001 to prevent my case against the evil company from being heard in court. I hold Shell responsible for crimes against my family, including the execution of my distinguished husband Dr. Barinem Kiobel who was hanged along with fellow Ogoni, collectively known as the Ogoni 9. Ken Saro-Wiwa, a winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize, was also one of the Ogoni 9. read more

The ‘Ogoni 9’ were executed on this day 22 years ago, all victims of a trumped-up case brought by the corrupt despotic Abacha Nigerian regime in collusion with its evil partner in crime, Royal Dutch Shell.

The widows of those murdered include Esther Kiobel who has been seeking justice ever since. Her husband, Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel was born in Kpor, Rivers State, Nigeria, on 23 September 1959. Between 1979 and 1992 he lived in the UK, where he obtained a doctorate at the University of Glasgow. In 1992 he returned to Nigeria, where he accepted a senior lecturer position at the University of Science and Technology in Port Harcourt.

Dr. Kiobel later became Honourable Commissioner of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism of Rivers State province. In this role he acted as a link between the government and the Ogoni. During his work as Commissioner, despite the potential danger of doing so, he publicly expressed criticism of the regime’s activities in Ogoniland. A fatal course of action.  read more

Esther Kiobel has been fighting for more than a decade to obtain justice for the murder of her husband Dr. Barinem Kiobel and crimes committed against her, for which she holds Shell responsible. Shell supported and financed the corrupt Abacha regime in Nigeria.

By John Donovan

Shell’s U.S. lawyers Cravath, Swaine & Moore, appealed against a decision by a U.S. federal judge that Cravath should hand over for use in Dutch litigation against Shell, more than 100,000 items of Shell internal discovery documents stored by Cravath in a secure warehouse located in the USA.

I have routinely published available appeal court documents that would otherwise be hidden behind a pay wall. The documents below were filed with the court in the days just before the appeal court hearing by various parties involved, including Washington DC lawyers Hogan Lovells representing Cravath, and EarthRights International acting for Esther Kiobel. read more

By John Donovan

It will shortly be five years since Esther Kiobel first sought my help in her fight to hold Shell accountable for complicity in the murder of her husband Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel – a member of the “Ogoni 9” executed in Nigeria by the dreaded Abacha regime. Esther correctly anticipated that Shell would succeed in blocking her attempt to use the US courts to seek justice. Shell recruited the UK and Dutch governments to help thwart the US litigation on judicial territoriality grounds. The merits of her claim were never considered.  read more

Andrew Denney, New York Law Journal: September 12, 2017

Forcing Cravath, Swaine & Moore to hand over documents related to litigation against Royal Dutch Shell to a plaintiff seeking redress in Dutch courts would give rise to “discovery litigation tourism,” an attorney for the firm said Tuesday in arguments before a federal appeals court.

Esther Kiobel, who was unsuccessful in her effort to hold Shell liable in American courts for the 1995 execution death of her husband and eight others under the Alien Tort Statute, has taken her fight to the courts in the Netherlands. read more

Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse, New York, New York

An important decision day for Esther Kiobel in the above U.S. Courthouse tomorrow, Tuesday 12 Sept 2017 in her epic attempt to bring Shell to Justice for complicity in the murder of her husband Dr. Barinem Kiobel, one of the  Ogoni Nine. She is seeking more than 100,000 Shell discovery documents stored in a secure US warehouse. 

“Who doesn’t love a good discovery fight? And this one involving Cravath, Swaine & Moore is a doozy, with ramifications that extend literally across the planet.”

By John Donovan

The text shown in red is an extract from an article by Jenna Greene from The Litigation Daily published in the US yesterday under the headline “Cravath in the Crosshairs”.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore are Shell’s lawyers. In 2013 they managed to torpedo on jurisdiction grounds a 2002 US lawsuit against Shell led by Esther Kiobel. After over a decade of litigation to stop the case from being heard, Cravath won a US Supreme Court decision in 2013 on that important point of law, without her charges against Shell  ever being considered. read more

BY PUNCH NEWSPAPERSEP 08, 2017

The oil giant, Shell, is refusing to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents on the arrest, detention, and execution of nine Ogoni men in the 1990s, Amnesty International has said. The execution of the “Ogoni Nine”,  including the renowned writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, by the government in 1995 sparked global outrage. Others executed along with Saro-Wiwa were Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. In a statement on Friday, a Senior Director of Research at Amnesty International, Audrey Gaughran, said Shell has gone to extraordinary lengths to withhold information vital to the case. He alleged that the oil giant may have “skeletons in its cupboard” and should not be allowed to hide behind expensive legal teams to avoid facing justice. “Shell has gone to extraordinary lengths to withhold this critical information. Because the documents in question are so old, it is highly unlikely that there are legitimate business reasons for keeping them confidential. So what does Shell have to hide?” FULL ARTICLE read more

The widows of four of the men, led by Esther Kiobel, are the plaintiffs in the case which was first filed in 2001 in the U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, without hearing the substance of the case, had ruled that the U.S. did not have jurisdiction. The widows filed the lawsuit in the Netherlands on June 28. An international human rights NGO, Amnesty International, said in a statement Friday that the U.S. law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, has refused to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents considered crucial to the case. The Amnesty International directly accused Shell of trying to prevent the release of vital information. FULL ARTICLE read more