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Shell Accused of Complicity in Executions of ‘Ogoni Nine’

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  • Shell Accused of Complicity in Executions of ‘Ogoni Nine’

Oil giant, Shell, stands accused of complicity in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of nine men who were hanged by the military regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha in the 1995, according to the Amnesty International, citing the launch of an explosive new case against the company in the Netherlands over four of the executions.

The nine victims of what the then British Prime Minister, Mr. John Major had described as “judicial murder” include author and playwright, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nordu Eawo, Saturday Dobee, Felix Nuate, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, John Kpuine, Baribor Bera and Barinem Kiobel.

According to a statement issued by Amnesty International wednesday, the civil case was brought by Esther Kiobel, the widow of Dr. Barinem Kiobel, and three other women.

Esther Kiobel was said to have pursued Shell for 20 years over the death of her husband, who was hanged in 1995 along with eight others, collectively known as the Ogoni Nine.

The executions had sparked a global outcry and international condemnation that led to the treatment of Nigeria as a pariah state until Abacha died in 1998.

Esther Kiobel accused Shell of complicity in the unlawful arrest and detention of her husband; the violation of his personal integrity; the violation of his right to a fair trial and his right to life; and her own right to a family life.

Amnesty International said it supported Esther’s legal team to bring the case to the Netherlands and has released a new briefing, ‘In The Dock’, detailing the role played by Shell in the executions.

“The executions of the Ogoni Nine shocked the world. Shell has been dodging accountability for its complicity in these deaths for more than twenty years but now, thanks to Esther Kiobel’s determination and bravery in taking on this corporate Goliath, the past is finally catching up with it,” Senior Director of Research at Amnesty International, Audrey Gaughran, said.

“Today is a watershed moment in Esther Kiobel’s uphill battle for justice. Shell has to answer for the bloody footprints it left all over Ogoniland,” Gaughran added.

The executions were the culmination of a brutal campaign by Nigeria’s military to silence the protests of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), led by Ken Saro-Wiwa.

In January 1993, MOSOP declared that Shell was no longer welcome to operate in Ogoniland.

The military authorities responded to the MOSOP protests with force, committing numerous serious human rights violations including killings, torture and rape.

“Shell encouraged the government to stop Ken Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP, knowing this was highly likely to result in human rights violations being committed against them. Shell had plenty of evidence that the Nigerian military was responding to the Ogoniland protests with abuse,” Gaughran said.

Amnesty also alleged that just weeks before the men were arrested the Chairperson of Shell Nigeria had met with then Head of State, General Sani Abacha, and raised “the problem of the Ogonis and Ken Saro-Wiwa”.

According to the human rights watchdog, this was not the first time Shell had engaged with military and security forces to frame the Ogoni protests as a “problem”.

Shell was also said to have repeatedly reminded the authorities of the economic impact of the MOSOP protests.

“Shell was reckless in raising Ken Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP as a problem, significantly exacerbating the risk to Saro-Wiwa and those linked to MOSOP. Shell knew full well that the government regularly violated the rights of those linked to MOSOP and that it had targeted Saro-Wiwa,” Gaughran added.

Esther Kiobel brought a civil case along with Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula, whose husbands were executed along with Barinem Kiobel.

The claimants are demanding damages for harm caused by Shell’s unlawful actions, and a public apology for the role that Shell played in the events leading to the deaths of their husbands.

But in a swift response to Amnesty’s claims, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) denied the alleged complicity in the executions of the Ogoni nine, adding that it had appealed to the then military regime to grant amnesty to the convicts.

A spokesman for the company, Bamidele Odugbesan said yesterday that the company was shocked that its appeal and the appeals made by many others within and outside Nigeria, were rejected by the military government.

“We have always denied, in the strongest possible terms, the allegations made by the plaintiffs in this tragic case. The executions of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his fellow Ogonis in 1995 were tragic events that were carried out by the military government in power at the time,” he said.

“We were shocked and saddened when we heard the news of the executions. SPDC appealed to the Nigerian government to grant clemency. To our deep regret, that appeal, and the appeals made by many others within and outside Nigeria, went unheard,” he added.

Shell said that support for human rights, in line with the legitimate role of business, is fundamental to its core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people, stressing that the evidence will show clearly that it was not responsible for these tragic events.

“SPDC has not had an opportunity to review the full report produced by Amnesty International but based on a summary of its findings made available to us, the Amnesty allegations against Royal Dutch Shell and SPDC are false and without merit.

“SPDC did not collude with the authorities to suppress community unrest and in no way encouraged or advocated any act of violence in Nigeria. In fact, the company believes that dialogue is the best way to resolve disputes,” the Shell spokesman added.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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EFCC Nabs Ex-Delta Governor, Okowa, For Alleged N1.3trn Fraud

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, over the alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion.

Sources with the EFCC revealed that Okowa visited the EFCC office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday before he was subsequently detained by officials.

The N1.3 trillion reportedly represents the 13% derivation fund from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

It was gathered that Okowa was at the Port Harcourt office of the Commission following an invitation from investigators probing the allegations against him.

The former governor was said to have been apprehended no sooner than he arrived at the anti-graft office.

Okowa was also accused of failing to account for the funds, as well as another N40 billion he allegedly claimed was used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas.

Sources said the former governor reportedly bought shares worth N40 billion in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake, to support the offshore LNG project.

The funds are alleged to have been misappropriated for other purposes.

They noted that investigators are also examining the alleged diversion of funds by the former governor to acquire estates in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State.

Okowa was the running mate to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the 2023 election.

He was the governor of Delta State from 2015 to 2023 and was succeeded by Sheriff Oborevwori, the incumbent Governor.

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the arrest but declined further comment on the matter.

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FG Frees Minors Remanded For Protesting Hunger In Nigeria

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Some minors who joined the nationwide #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria have regained their freedom.

Their release followed the striking out of the treason charge against them by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday.

Investors King had reported that the Federal Government through its security agencies arrested and preferred treason allegations against the minors who participated in the August #EndBadGovernance protest.

However, President Bola Tinubu had directed the release of the minors owing to the outrage that greeted their arrest, prosecution and incarceration.

Carrying out the presidential directive when the matter resumed on Tuesday, counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, made an application for discontinuation of the case.

Abubakar, who is the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), premised his application on provisions of Sections 174(1), (b), and (c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

He informed the court that the AGF had officially taken over the case file, saying the Federal Government no longer has interest in the case against the protesters.

The DPPF also applied for the proceeding to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266 (b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Child’s Rights Act.

Counsel to the defendants, including Mr Femi Fanala, SAN, did not oppose the application.

To this end, Justice Obiora Egwuatu struck out the charge against the protesters who were minors.

Recall that the judge had last Friday admitted the 114 protesters arraigned by the police to N10 million bail each with two sureties each in like sum.

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Knocks, Kudos For Judiciary Over Stoppage of Allocations to Rivers State as Fubara Boasts of Coping Without FG’s Funds

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Siminalayi Fubara

A mixture of condemnation and praises has trailed a judgement of a Federal High Court that stopped the release of state allocations to the Rivers State Government.

Investors King had reported that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered the stoppage of the release of monthly federal allocations to Rivers State.

Justice Abdulmalik predicated her action on the grounds that the state government was in violation of the Constitution as regarding the state expenditures.

According to the judge, the current budget being operated by the state was not passed by a lawful arm of the Rivers State House of Assembly, therefore, Fubara is not entitled to allocations from the government at the centre.

Meanwhile, some stakeholders in the country have knocked the judiciary over the decision, calling on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun to rein in on judges’ actions over the political crisis ravaging Rivers.

For former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the judiciary should be cautioned against setting the South-South State on fire.

In a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, the former Vice President, said it was appalling that some elements loyal to the Federal Government were pulling the strings from behind.

Atiku wondered why Justice Joyce Abdulmalik issued the order when it was public knowledge that Rivers State had already challenged the Court of Appeal’s judgement on the legality of Rivers State’s 2024 budget.

He, however, called on Justice Kekere-Ekun to ensure that those found wanting are disciplined in order to restore the fading glory of the nation’s judiciary.

In the same vein, Chief Emeka Kalu, National Coordinator of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Coalition observed that the ongoing crisis plaguing Rivers State must be handled with caution to save it from unnecessarily being flamed in uncontrollable state of lawlessness.

Kalu in the statement said the judiciary is expected to maintain its integrity and protect her independence by working to avoid being politically purchased to harm democratic processes and the ethics of law.

According to him, the recent judgement by the Abuja Federal High Court division directing the RMAFC to stop releasing statutory monthly allocation to the State government was done out of bias and politically motivated plans to disrupt Fubara ‘s administration.

The group affirmed that it remains the height of injustice for a political party under the guise of personal interest to continue raising the dust of anarchy against the will of the people and the judiciary is expected to redeem and revitalize the failed system instead of allowing herself to be used to ruin the polity.

On the contrary, the National Democratic and Change Coalition has hailed the court for the judgment banning further release of allocations to Rivers and called on Governor Fubara to refund all monies spent without appropriation to the state coffers.

The coalition, while expressing satisfaction with the ruling, said the people of Rivers State have been vindicated and the long-awaited justice has been served on the governor.

Reacting via a press release by John Uloko, president of the coalition hailed Justice Joyce Abdulmalik for the judgment, saying that since January 2024, Rivers State had received and spent allocations based on an “illegitimate” budget, thereby describing it as a “constitutional aberration”.

The group, made up of lawyers, agreed with the court that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget before a four-member Rivers House of Assembly was an affront to the constitutional provision.

It added that the ruling is a victory for democracy and will teach rogue governors the bitter lesson that the Constitution of the Federal Republic must be respected and the sanctity of the nation’s democratic institutions upheld irrespective of their political desperation.

Nonetheless, the embattled Governor Fubara, on Wednesday said the restriction placed on the state allocations is “the least” of his problems.

Governor Fubara stated this during a special thanksgiving service organised by the state government to celebrate his administration’s resilience amid escalating political crises, which began with the arson attack on the State House of Assembly complex exactly one year ago.

Governor Fubara assured that despite the court order, his administration would continue payments to contractors and ensure workers’ salaries are disbursed from today (Thursday).

He also confirmed that allocations for the 23 Council Chairmen would be credited, as the Joint Accounts Allocation Committee procedures have been completed.

The governor encouraged his supporters to remain resilient, assuring them that all challenges are surmountable.

Reflecting on his administration’s success, Governor Fubara noted that despite predictions that his government would not last even a week, he has successfully led for over a year.

He said his administration has also conducted local government elections against all odds and maintained a full cabinet despite attempts to undermine his leadership through resignations.

Highlighting his administration’s progress, he mentioned ongoing project executions across the state, countering critics who claimed he would be unable to deliver.

He also cited recent reports that position Rivers State as one of the leaders in financial accountability and transparency.

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