…An extract from an English version of the Writ of Summons…

1. 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.
   
   
2. On 10 November 1995 the military regime in Nigeria hanged…the ‘Ogoni 9’…
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
4. …The claimants have to date been deprived of a judgment or settlement.
   
   
5. …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…