Lord Noel Says - You Can Be Sure Of Shell!

What ho! Pepys...

Charles Wiwa, 44, fled Nigeria in 1996 following a crackdown on protests against Shell’s oil operations in the Niger Delta. Wiwa and other natives of the oil-rich Ogoni region claim Shell was eager to stop protests in the area and was complicit in Nigerian government actions that included fatal shootings, rapes, beatings, arrests and property destruction.
He said an American court is the only place the Ogonis can seek accountability.
“Nigeria gets so much money from oil. There is no way the company will be held liable for anything in courts in Nigeria,’’ Wiwa said. He now lives in Chicago, having been allowed into the United States as a political refugee.
In the most notorious incident of the crackdown, Nigeria’s military dictatorship hanged author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists, sparking international outrage.
The Alien Tort Statute being used to bring this action in America lay unused for most of American history until rights lawyers dusted it off beginning in the late 1970s. Lawsuits have been brought against individuals who allegedly took part in abuses and, more recently, against companies that do business in places where abuses occur and in the United States.
“The corporations have a lot of money and are very attractive targets,’’ said Northwestern University law professor Eugene Kontorovich, an expert in international law. “The idea is that they were in bed with the countries concerned.’’
Corporations and human rights groups are now ready to square off in a Supreme Court fight over whether foreign victims of war crimes, killings and other atrocities can haul multinational companies into American courts and try to prove they were complicit in the abuses and should pay damages.
The rights groups say a 223-year-old law gives foreigners such as Nigerian-born Charles Wiwa the right to try to hold businesses accountable for the roles they play in atrocities. Energy and mining companies have been among the most frequent targets of these lawsuits in recent years following efforts by the military in Indonesia, Nigeria and elsewhere to clamp down on protests against oil and gas exploration and development.

Tallyho!
Best Wishes (and good luck Charles!) - Lord Noel