Widows of executed activists in Nigeria win case against Shell

The widows of nine Nigerian activists executed in 1995 got a major boost on Wednesday when a Dutch court ruled that it had jurisdiction to determine whether Royal Dutch Shell was complicit in the Nigerian government’s execution of their husbands.* The men who came to be known as the Ogoni Nine, were environmental activists who fought against widespread pollution in the Niger Delta.

The four widows accuse Shell of instigating a deadly crackdown by the military government of the time against peaceful protesters in Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta, the most valuable oil-producing region in Nigeria.

Shell denies any responsibility.

Africa News