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By Associated Press“With this case I seek justice for my murdered husband so that he can be exonerated from a crime he never committed,” she added.
She is among four women who accuse Shell of being complicit in the hanging of their husbands by Nigeria’s military in 1995. Shell denies the allegation.
A banner displayed outside the court in support of one of the widows expected to testifyShell denies any wrongdoing, saying it never colluded with Nigerian authorities or advocated any act of violence.
IMAGE INSERTED BY JOHN DONOVAN
Four Nigerian women are suing Shell in the court in The Hague. They’re demanding apologies and compensation from the Dutch oil and gas giant for the execution of their husbands in Nigeria in 1995. According to the widows, and Amnesty International who is supporting them, Shell encouraged the then military regime to unlawfully arrest and detain their husbands because they were critical of Shell and the regime, RTL Nieuws reports.
The husbands of Victoria Bera (L) and Esther Kiobel (R), were executed in 1995
“My husband had a good heart. Now I am a poor widow who has lost everything,” Kiobel was quoted as telling the court in The Hague by Dutch news agency ANP.
“The abuses that my family and I went through were a horrible experience that has traumatised us to this day,” added Kiobel, who fled Nigeria in 1998 and now lives in the United States.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from a Nigerian activist’s widow who asked the court to review the Second Circuit’s decision barring her from obtaining Royal Dutch Shell PLC documents held by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP for her suit against the energy giant in the Netherlands…
Disclosure by the author of this article: The lead claimant Esther Kiobel, her lawyer Channa Samkalden of the Dutch human rights law firm Prakken d’Oliveira representing the widows, and the acclaimed human rights organisation Amnesty International, have all acknowledged the involvement of John Donovan in bringing *this case. (*See Writ of Summons in English and Dutch served on Shell 28 June 2017 – copy obtained from US Pacer public electronic court records)
IMAGE INSERTED BY JOHN DONOVAN
Ken Saro-Wiwa: Before launching MOSOP, Ken Saro-Wiwa, from Bane in Ogoniland, was a successful writer. From 1985-90, some 30 million Nigerians tuned in every week to Basi and Company, a comedy-drama he wrote for Nigerian TV.152 Several of his books won international acclaim, including Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten English, and On a Darkling Plain.153 The prosecution accused Ken Saro-Wiwa of inciting his supporters to kill the four chiefs meeting at Giokoo. It claimed that shortly before the attacks, he told a group of supporters “to deal with the “vultures.”154 The only witnesses to allege this, Charles Danwi and Nayone Akpa, subsequently signed alleging that the government and Shell had bribed them to make false statements (see above.)155 Ken Saro-Wiwa denied the accusation.156
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.”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.
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.
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.
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
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.”
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… 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.
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
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
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.
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.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan
The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.
Extremely slow broadband for 10 months, not fixed. I have had slow broadband well below the guaranteed speed for 10 months and Shell Energy have not been able to fix it. They have tried sending about 4 or 5 engineers but have not fixed the problem. Gurps, who I have been dealing with most recently, has been friendly and polite, alth… Read more
See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission website etc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our non-profit websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner
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