Widows Hold Shell Liable for ‘Judicial Murder’
…An extract from an English version of the Writ of Summons…
- In this case four Nigerian widows hold Shell liable for the unlawful detention and execution of their husbands in 1995 and the damage they have suffered in connection with those events.
- On 10 November 1995 the military regime in Nigeria hanged…the ‘Ogoni 9’…
- Shell played a crucial role in the events leading to the deaths…the claimants argue that Shell is an accessory to the violation of (inter alia) their husbands’ right to life, their right to a family life and their right to personal dignity and integrity.
- …The claimants have to date been deprived of a judgment or settlement.
- …Chapter 8 [of the summons] contains further details of Shell’s complicity…[including as to] how Shell kept encouraging the regime to act and clear things up in Ogoniland, while knowing that this had already given rise to many fatalities and casualties…[and showing] the existence of a deep entanglement between the regime and Shell…[as well that] Shell operated continuously as one company in this regard…being managed from the parent companies…