The Wiwa- family lawsuits against Royal Dutch Shell were three separate lawsuits brought in 1996 by the family of

Ken Saro-Wiwa Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerian writer, television producer, and environmental activist. Ken Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland, Ogonilan ...

against

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

, its subsidiary

Shell Nigeria Shell Nigeria is the common name for Shell plc's Nigerian operations carried out through four subsidiaries—primarily Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC). Royal Dutch Shell's joint ventures account for more than 21% of ...

and the subsidiary's CEO Brian Anderson. Charges included human rights abuses against the

Ogoni people The Ogonis are a people in the Rivers South East senatorial district of Rivers State, in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. They number just over 2 million and live in a homeland which they also refer to as Ogoniland. They share common ...

in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes include ...

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

, arbitrary arrest, and wrongful death. After 12 years of Shell petitioning the court not to hear the cases, they were heard 26 May 2009. On June 8, 2009, Shell settled out-of-court with the Saro-Wiwa family for $15.5 million.

Background

The particular incidents raised in these cases were: *the 1995 judicial

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

s of the

Ogoni Nine The Ogoni Nine were a group of nine activists from the Ogoni region of Nigeria who opposed the operating practices of the Royal Dutch Shell oil corporation. Their members included outspoken author and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nord ...

, leaders of the

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), is a social movement organization representing the indigenous Ogoni people of Rivers State, Nigeria. The Ogoni contend that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), along with othe ...

(MOSOP); *the torture and detention of

Owens Wiwa Monday Owens Wiwa (born 10 October 1957 in Bori, Nigeria) is a medical doctor and human rights activist. He is the brother of executed Ogoni leader Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the son of Ogoni chief Jim Wiwa. Wiwa is an internationally renowned expert on ...

and Michael Tema Vizor; *the shooting of a woman, Karololo Kogbara, who was peacefully

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

ing the bulldozing of her crops in preparation for a Shell pipeline, and another female protester, Uebari N-nahby by Nigerian troops allegedly called in by Shell. American photojournalist

Ed Kashi Ed Kashi (born 1957) is an American photojournalist and member of VII Photo Agency based in the Greater New York area. Kashi's work spans from print photojournalism to experimental film. He is noted for documenting sociopolitical issues. Persona ...

's images from the book ''Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta'' were deposed as evidence of the human rights abuses that the oil industry, particularly Shell, has inflicted on the Ogoni people.

Case

The lawsuit was filed in 1996 in the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a United States district court, federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York (state), New York ...

, and charges were made under the

Alien Tort Statute The Alien Tort Statute ( codified in 1948 as ; ATS), also called the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), is a section in the United States Code that gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by foreign nationals for torts committed in viola ...

, the

Torture Victim Protection Act of 1992 The Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (TVPA; ) is a statute that allows for the filing of civil suits in the United States against individuals who, acting in an official capacity for any foreign nation, committed torture and/or extrajudicial ...

and

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

(RICO). Plaintiffs were charged with

complicit Complicity is the participation in a completed criminal act of an accomplice, a partner in the crime who aids or encourages ( abets) other perpetrators of that crime, and who shared with them an intent to act to complete the crime.''Criminal Law ...

y in human rights abuses against the

in the

, including

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

, inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrest, wrongful death, and

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

and

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

. The lawsuits were filed by the

Center for Constitutional Rights The Center for Constitutional RightsThe Center for Constitutional Rights
(CCR) is a EarthRights International EarthRights International (ERI) is an American nonprofit human rights and environmental organization founded in 1995 by Katie Redford, Ka Hsaw Wa, and Tyler Giannini. Cases * '' Doe v. Unocal Corp.'' * '' Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Shell Co.'' * '' Do ...

Resolution

On June 8, 2009, Shell settled out-of-court with the Saro-Wiwa family for $15.5 million.

Ben Amunwa Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, � ...

, director of the Remember Saro-Wiwa organization, said that "No company, that is innocent of any involvement with the Nigeria military and human rights abuses, would settle out of court for 15.5 million dollars. It clearly shows that they have something to hide". Shell stated the payment was a humanitarian gesture and a gesture of sympathy, denying culpability in the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the deaths of the Ogoni Nine.

References

External links

BBC report on case

BBC report on background to caseWiwa v. Shell - Official website
(joint project of the Center for Constitutional Rights and EarthRights International)
Center for Constitutional Rights

EarthRights International

Correspondence between Shell and the Nigeria Police

Royal Dutch Shell to go to Trial for Complicity in Torture and Murder of Nigerian Protesters

ShellGuilty coalition
(archived at Wayback Machine 2010-06-30 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiwa Family Lawsuits Against Royal Dutch Shell 2009 in United States case law Alien Tort Statute case law Niger River Delta Nigeria–United States relations Ogoni people Royal Dutch Shell litigation Ken Saro-Wiwa

Background

Case

Resolution

See also

References

External links