Printed below in italics is a press statement issued by one of the two competing organisations, both calling themselves MOSOP. The statement is from the MOSOP led by Fegalo Nsuke which is indisputably active, while the MOSOP led by Legborsi Saro Pyagbara (Wikipedia article) has an online presence, but otherwise appears to be dormant?

PRESS STATEMENT

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has cautioned against a possible crackdown on the Ogoni people to kill them in order to force oil resumption in the land.

President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, raised the alarm while addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday. Nsuke said the plot is being hatched by allies of Shell who have disguised as Ogoni leaders and championing the campaign for oil resumption.

“Oil resumption will kill our people and we do not want it” Nsuke said.

He explained that government orientation to force oil production in Ogoni using the military has not helped matters but has rather endangered the Ogoni people.

“Attempts to force oil resumption in Ogoniland without the consent of the people have always been resisted. Usually, the government responds by sending soldiers who shoot and kill Ogoni people and we do not want this to happen again”

Nsuke further warned that “killing Ogoni people over oil could attract sympathy from the rest of the Niger Delta and possibly throw the region into crisis”

He described the campaigns for oil resumption as an invitation to state repression against the Ogoni people noting that the Ogoni environment cannot support any form of oil exploitation at this time.

“The Ogoni people and the environment can logically not support any form of oil production at the moment as the people have not been receptive to the idea. The implication is that every attempt to force oil production in Ogoni will be resisted by the people and government will as usual respond by sending in the soldiers to kill us which we do not want. It is therefore imperative that to save lives, we must not contemplate oil resumption in Ogoni at this time” Nsuke said.

According to him, Shell’s crime against the Ogoni people were still very fresh and affecting lives severely, therefore, plans to resume oil production without the people’s consent could cause civil protests and lead to conflicts with attendant loss of lives.

Signed

Dcn Monday Ziinu

Gen Secretary, MOSOP

Disclaimer

The views, information, allegations or opinions expressed above are those of the author/originator of the article. They have not been substantiated by the publisher of this website and may not represent the publisher’s views. read more

The MOSOP president said the Ogoni struggle for justice in Nigeria has consumed over 4,000 lives and currently endangers the lives of over 1,000,000 people owing to Shell and Nigeria’s unjust practices and unfair laws that oppress indigenous communities like the Ogoni people. read more

By John Donovan

According to Wikipedia “The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, also known as (MOSOP), is a mass‐based social movement organization of the indigenous Ogoni people.” Legborsi Saro Pyagbara is named as being the President of Mosop in November 2014.  read more

The four widows claim that the Shell operating company has bribed eight witnesses. Those witnesses are said to have played an important role in the conviction, and thus have the death of their spouses partly on their conscience. Shell has always denied this. So the judge wants more evidence that the eight people have been bribed. “That could be done by hearing witnesses, for example.”

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FT, Financieele Dagblad.

Carel Grol

Four Nigerian widows who litigate against Shell RDSA € 28.48 + 1.24% must provide tougher evidence. The court in The Hague ruled on that on Wednesday morning.

The Nigerian women Esther Kiobel (m) and Victoria Bera with their lawyer Channa Samkalden for the verdict at the court in The Hague. They are two of the widows who take Shell to court for the executions of their husbands in 1995. Photo: Bart Hoogveld for the FD

The case revolves around the execution of nine men from the Ogoni tribe in 1995. Widows of four of them are going to trial against Shell. The oil company is said to have conspired with the Nigerian state and to be partly responsible for the death of the nine men, the women claim. read more

Esther Kiobel, right, and Victoria Bera, centre, whose husbands were among nine men killed in Nigeria in 1995, with their lawyer Channa Samkalden after the hearing in The Hague. Photograph: Robin van Lonkhuijsen/EPA

Wed 1 May 2019 13.33 BST

A Dutch court has ruled that it has jurisdiction to determine whether Royal Dutch Shell was complicit in the Nigerian government’s execution of the Ogoni Nine, environmental protesters who fought against widespread pollution in the Niger Delta.

In a 50-page ruling hailed by campaigners as an “important precedent” for global human rights cases, judges at The Hague’s district court said on Wednesday that they would allow the case to go forward, also indicating that the claimants – widows of four of the activists – would be able to bring further evidence to prove their case. read more

Bart H. Meijer: MAY 1, 2019 / 11:12 AM

* Case brought by widows of activists executed in 1995

* Shell ordered to turn over any papers that could help claimants

* Shell denies any liability in “strongest possible terms”

* Large punitive damages award unlikely in Netherlands

By Bart H. Meijer

THE HAGUE, May 1 (Reuters) – A Dutch court said on Wednesday it has jurisdiction to hear a damages suit brought against Royal Dutch Shell by four widows of activists executed by the Nigerian government in 1995.

In a preliminary decision, judges at the Hague District Court said they would allow the suit to go forward, a rare win in a decades-long legal fight, though the claimants must still prove Shell’s liability. Shell denies wrongdoing.

“This procedure will continue,” said presiding judge Larissa Alwin, reading the decision of a three-judge panel. read more

“Today’s ruling will have great significance for people everywhere who have been harmed by the greed and recklessness of global corporations.”

1 May 2019, 10:08 UTC

The District Court of The Hague today issued an interim ruling in the case brought by Esther Kiobel and three other women with regard to Shell’s involvement in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of their husbands by the Nigerian military. It ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, that the court does have jurisdiction of the case and that this should not be time barred.

The court also ruled that Shell should hand over some confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, and that they would have the opportunity to examine witnesses. read more

Fegalo Nsuke: President, MOSOP

On behalf of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), I write to sincerely convey our joy and solidarity with the families of our heroes who were executed by the Nigerian government and Shell in 1995.

Today’s (May 1, 2019) decision of the Dutch Court in assuming jurisdiction to determine whether Royal Dutch Shell was complicit in the Nigerian government’s execution of the Ogoni nine brings hope to us and the over one million Ogoni people around the world that Shell and the Nigerian Government itself will someday be made to account for the killing of thousands of Ogonis in Nigeria. read more

By Mark Dummett, Amnesty International Business and Human Rights Researcher

On 1 May, a court in The Hague, the oil multinational’s home town, will deliver a ruling on whether a case brought by Esther and three other Nigerian women over Shell’s role in their husband’s deaths can proceed.

The four widows accuse Shell of instigating a brutal crackdown by the-then military regime against peaceful protesters in Ogoniland, in Africa’s most valuable oil-producing region, the Niger Delta, in the 1990s. The protests were over pollution, the chronic lack of development, and the unfair distribution of oil wealth. read more

Oil Resumption Plot is Part of Nigeria and Shell’s Genocide Against Ogoni People read more

Ogoni Clean Up is Nigeria’s Ridiculous Image Laundering and Hypocritical Oil Resumption Programme read more

The MOSOP President said the gradual militarization of Ogoniland only remind the Ogoni people of the evil Shell and  Nigeria have done to us in the past which led to the death of over 4,000 Ogonis.

MOSOP STATEMENT

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) says it is becoming increasingly clear that the Nigerian government is not bothered about the genocide against the Ogoni people in Nigeria.

Speaking in Bodo, Gokana local government area of Rivers State on Sunday, March 17, 2019, president of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said the Nigerian government does not care about the poor living conditions in Ogoniland. He accused the Nigerian government of using the Ogoni cleanup program to deceive the people while their real intention is to resume oil production in the area without the consent of the Ogoni people. read more

…peace-loving Ogoni citizens whose lives have been rendered miserable by years of state repression and environmental devastation from Shell’s long years of pollution.

MOSOP Rejects Oil Resumption, NNPC/NPDC Take Over of Ogoni Oilfields

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) wishes to express its strong rejection of the directive by the Nigerian President for the NNPD/NPDC takeover of Ogoni oilfields and the resumption of oil production in Ogoni as reflected in a communication by the Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari.

Indeed, it is appalling that despite the severe impact this directive will have on the lives of the Ogoni people, this decision had been taken without consultations with the Ogoni people nor were our inputs sought in such a crucial issue that affect our lives. read more

Mark Robinson

Last week, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) revealed that it is facing charges in the Netherlands relating to corruption allegations surrounding a Nigerian oil bloc called OPL 245. Shell and Italian major ENI SpA (ENI.IM) acquired the licence in 2011 for around $1.3bn (£992m), but it’s alleged that a significant proportion of the monies was destined for use as kickbacks for politicians and officials, with former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete – a convicted money launderer – acting as the principal intermediary. Although the funds were paid to the Nigerian government, it’s claimed that they found their way into the coffers of Malabu Oil and Gas — a company linked to Mr Etete. read more

By MOSOP Ogoniland

President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Fegalo Nsuke, has described the conduct of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, in Ogoniland as a national shame and crime against humanity.

The MOSOP president Fegalo Nsuke made the assertion in K-Dere in Gokana local government area on Wednesday while conducting journalists around oil spill sites in the Ogoni.

Nsuke said in a country where citizens health and welfare were taken seriously, the oil mining license of Shell should have been withdrawn. read more

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

By John Donovan

I heard from a major news organisation that Esther Kiobel brought up my name several times during an interview at the Dutch court hearing yesterday, kindly expressing her thanks for my help.

Esther approached me after the US Supreme Court decision that thwarted on jurisdiction grounds her attempts to sue Shell in the USA for complicity in the murder of her husband, Dr Barinem Kiobel. It took over a decade of litigation to arrive at that decision. read more