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

Delegates to the UNPO Presidents meeting in Washington DC

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, has called for global support for the people of Ogoni in Nigeria to achieve Self Determination and protection from discrimination.

Speaking at the just-concluded meeting of presidents of the UNPO in Washington DC, United States of America, president of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said the repression and discrimination against the Ogoni people in Nigeria was unacceptable.

Nsuke said it was unfortunate that a simple demand for justice was being repressed by the Nigerian authorities leading to the death of over 4000 persons and continues to endanger the lives of over one million Ogoni people. read more

Extracts

…the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) …  represents 29 of Europe’s main fossil fuel operators, including Total, Shell, BP and ExxonMobil.

Such firms, their business founded on extracting fossil fuels, have an interest in delaying or undermining policies designed to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.

FULL ARTICLE

EXTRACTS (Entire New York Magazine article can be read here)

Since 2017, when I published a book about American millennials, I’ve had the occasional cold call from corporations to come talk about my work, all but one of which I’ve turned down. But last fall, the Shell Scenarios team — as in Royal Dutch Shell, one of the biggest oil companies in the world — offered me £2,000 in exchange for a 15-minute talk and my participation in a group exercise. Its internal corporate think tank was holding a daylong conference about how generational change would affect the hopefulness projected in what the company calls the “Sky Scenario,” which it describes as “a technically possible but challenging pathway for society to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.” I’m not a climate expert, but apparently I qualify as a generational whisperer, at least to Shell, and to talk to me about global warming, the giant energy conglomerate wanted to fly me to London from Philadelphia, business class. I warned them that I couldn’t keep their money and asked if I’d need to sign an NDA. When they said no, I saw an opportunity to report on the oil company, undercover while in plain sight, without technically lying to anyone. It was too good to pass up. I said yes, then I emailed my editor. read more

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 / 9:28 PM

YENAGOA, Nigeria, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s state oil company and its joint venture partners have spent $360 million on cleaning up the Niger Delta oil heartland in the past two years, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said on Monday, but locals said little work had been done.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest crude oil exporter. Oil sales account for around 90% of its foreign currency earnings but oil spills in the southern Niger Delta region have caused pollution and angered locals. read more

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

By Prince Fegalo Nsuke, president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). 

Ken Saro-Wiwa’s murder is most certainly the worst Nigeria did to the Ogoni people outside the genocide which has been the outcome of Shell’s reckless oil mining operations since 1958.

The pain of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s murder along with eight others including John Kpuinen, Barinem Nubari Kiobel, Nordu Eawo, Saturday Doobee,  Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate and Baribor Bera remain the most unpleasant side of our country’s history. It is so because the “Ogoni 9” as they became known and referred to were definitely innocent and did not deserve death. read more

Extracts from an article by Stephen Delahunty published 15 January 2020

Newly released files under the UK’s declassification rules reveal that John Major’s Conservative Government rejected Mandela’s personal appeal to impose oil sanctions on Nigeria as it wanted to protect Shell and the UK’s wider commercial interests.

In 1995, Nigeria’s military regime executed nine environmental activists who had led a non-violent protest against pollution by Anglo-Dutch company Shell and other energy firms in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The so-called ‘Ogoni 9’ were executed on 10 November 1995, following a military tribunal that was internationally condemned – particularly by South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela.

Newly released files under the UK’s declassification rules reveal that John Major’s Conservative Government rejected Mandela’s personal appeal to impose oil sanctions on Nigeria as it wanted to protect Shell and the UK’s wider commercial interests. read more

The UK and US considered a navy-backed oil embargo against Nigeria, following the 1995 execution of writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, a document released by the UK government reveals.

Saro-Wiwa and eight other campaigners from the Ogoni ethnic group were hanged on 10 November 1995.

They had been found guilty by a secret military tribunal of the murder of four Ogoni chiefs by a mob.

The nine denied the charge and said they had been framed.

Saro-Wiwa led mass protests against oil pollution in Nigeria’s Ogoniland.

The protests were seen as a major threat to Nigeria’s military ruler at the time, Gen Sani Abacha, and Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell.

• Fishermen at risk amidst the oil

• Militants cripple Nigeria’s oil sector

The executions led to Nigeria suspension from the Commonwealth. read more

Neil Munshi in Eleme, Nigeria:29 Dec 2019

Local people’s lack of faith is rooted in decades of mistrust in the authorities. In the 1990s, writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop) led non-violent protests seeking justice for the Ogoni over the severe environmental degradation in their homeland caused by oil extraction. The government responded with a brutal crackdown and in 1994 executed Mr Saro-Wiwa and eight others. Little has changed since. Ogoniland, like the broader Niger Delta, has become more polluted and development has stalled, with little to show for the billions of dollars in crude that has been extracted. read more

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

By: Dr Isaac Osuoka: November 2019

These are challenging times for residents of Nigeria’s Niger Delta area. Many leaders in the communities feel a high level of concern about travelling to Port Harcourt through the East-West Road due to the high level of banditry, kidnappings and killings recorded in recent weeks. Indeed, there is a heightened feeling of insecurity in Rivers State, and other Niger Delta communities, as elsewhere in the country. The situation may have gotten worse in the build-up to, and the aftermath of the 2019 General Election. read more

Too Bad for a Minority

“Dance, my people, dance the guns to silence”  – Ken Saro-Wiwa

By OSA DIRECTOR

Article published by Dateline Magazine: Page 5, Jan 4, 1996

Ken Saro-Wiwa, renowned author, playwright, committed environmentalist, social crusader, and intellectual humorist even in moments of terror, tribulation and humiliation, refuses to lose his wit candour and deep-seated enthusiasm to ensure justice for his people and redefine the unjust Nigeria federation, as depicted in the above quote from his last interview with TELL in the Bori military detention camp. Even though diminutive in stature, he was a cerebral colossus, with immense courage, verve and resolute determination. read more

Rejoinder: Ken Saro-Wiwa: A Playwright And Revolutionary, But A Man With Trading Instinct

Dear Editor,

Please see and publish the article below with above headline.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ben Ikari, author of Ken Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP: The Story and Revelation; Rights and Environmental Justice Advocate.

Dear Janet Anderson:

Thank you for taking the time to write these good words credited to you about Ken Saro-Wiwa in the headline above. It was reportedly published in the Tempo Newspaper Nigeria, on Jan. 2, 1996 though originally printed in the Daily Telegraph of Nov. 13, 1995.  Saro-Wiwa was, of course, the foremost minority rights crusader of Africa. He was a prolific and accomplished writer who authored more than 27 books. He also had several newspaper publications and position papers to his name; a non-violent and peaceful, intelligent, smart and witty world’s environmental martyr he was. He was truly altruistic. read more

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Says the decriminalization of the Ogoni martyrs has become a key demand of the Ogonis

Calls for an End to Ogoni Killings

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has hinted of a roadmap to Ogoni development. MOSOP leader, Fegalo Nsuke gave the hint on Sunday at a commemorative church service at the Methodist Church, Wesley Cathedral in Bori, the traditional headquarters of the Ogoni people, to mark the 24th anniversary of Ogoni martyrs day, a day set aside to honor the fallen heroes of the Ogoni struggle including renowned author and environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa..

Nsuke did not give details of the roadmap but while addressing the church service hinted that “if we can have a Niger Delta Development Commission, a Niger Delta Basic Development Authority, then we can also have an Ogoni Development Authority” read more

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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