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Nigeria: Delta Violence Past & Present
AfricaFocus Bulletin
Jun 12, 2009 (090612)
(Reposted from sources cited below)
Editor's Note
"It is impossible to separate the actions of the oil multinationals
operating across the Niger Delta from the actions of the Nigerian
government in the region. ... In exchange for the oil removed from
the Niger Delta, the oil companies, with the support of the
Nigerian state, have left behind an ecological disaster, reducing
whole towns and villages to rubble, causing death by fire and
pollution, and the guns of the Nigerian military." - Sokari Ekine
and Firoze Manji
On June 8, 2009, the parties in Wiwa v. Shell agreed to settle
human rights claims charging the Royal Dutch/Shell company, its
Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC or
Shell Nigeria), and the former head of its Nigerian operation,
Brian Anderson, with complicity in the torture, killing, and other
abuses of Ogoni leader Ken Saro-Wiwa and other non-violent Nigerian
activists in the mid-1990s in the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta,
for a total of $15.5 million. But while this is a victory for
efforts to hold multinational corporations accountable, it is only
a small step to resolving the issues of accountability for past
offenses or the present conflict that continues in the oilproducing
areas of the Niger Delta.
This AfricaFocus Bulletin focuses on recent events relating to the
Niger Delta, including the settlement in Wiwa v. Shell and the
current military operations by the Nigerian government and
resulting civilian displacement. Documents included are the
commentary in Pambazuka News (http://www.pambazuka.org) by Sokari
Ekine and Firoze Manji, an action alert from the Africa Faith &
Justice Network (http://www.afjn.org) calling for action by U.S.
President Barack Obama, and a posting from the blog Niger Delta
Solidarity (http://nigerdeltasolidarity.wordpress.com),
Also included is a listing of books on the Niger Delta and related
issues, with links for ordering at Amazon, Amazon UK or Amazon
Canada.
Another AfricaFocus Bulletin sent out today
(http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/nig0906a.php) contains brief
excerpts from an extensive background analysis by Nasir El-Rufai,
"Umara Yar'Adua: Great Expectations, Disappointing Outcome," and a
press release from Human Rights Watch calling for President
Yar'Adua to act to improve Nigeria's human rights situation.
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on Nigeria, visit
http://www.africafocus.org/country/nigeria.php
Additional Sources on Niger Delta:
http://www.sweetcrudemovie.com/attacks.php
Reports on attacks, and links to video and audio from production
company of new documentary Sweet Crude
Justice in Nigeria Now
http://justiceinnigerianow.org/background/military-attacks-may-2009
Daily Independent, June 2, 2009
Niger Delta - Time for Peace
http://allafrica.com/stories/200906020052.html
Toll on civilians still unclear in Delta, June 11, 2009
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=84800
++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++++++++
The Ogoni Nine - Shell settlement: Victory, but justice deferred?
Sokari Ekine and Firoze Manji
Pambazuka News, 2009-06-11, Issue 437
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/56914
Sokari Ekine blogs at http://www.blacklooks.org.
Firoze Manji is editor in chief of Pambazuka News.
Details of the trial and settlement can be viewed at
http://www.wiwavshell.org/wiwa-v-shell-victory-settlement
With Shell having agreed an out-of-court settlement of $15.5
million with the families of the Ogoni Nine activists killed in
1995, Sokari Ekine and Firoze Manji argue that a victory should not
be confused with justice. Though representative of an emerging
movement in bringing a multinational to the brink of a trial, the
questions over the Niger Delta region and Shell's atrocious
environmental and human rights records remain, with the company
admitting no liability for its actions. We must continue to support
the numerous trials against Shell still carrying on, Ekine and
Manji contend, and ensure that widespread discussion helps
establish broader justice for the Ogoni people and all those
suffering from multinational and governmental exploitation in
Nigeria and beyond.
"And as I was going, I was just thinking how the war have spoiled
my town Dukana, uselessed many people, killed many others, killed
my mama and my wife, Agnes, my beautiful young wife with J.J.C and
now it have made me like porson wey get leprosy because I have no
town again.
And I was thinking how I was prouding before to go to soza and call
myself Sozaboy. But now if anybody say anything about war or even
fight, I will just run and run and run and run and run. Believe me
yours sincerely." Ken Saro-Wiwa, Sozaboy
Thirteen years ago, Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr and the families of the eight
other Ogoni men who had been murdered by the Nigerian state in
1995, together with two other Ogonis, began three separate law
suits against Royal Dutch Petroleum, Shell Petroleum Development
Corporation (SPDC) and Brian Anderson, the former CEO of the SPDC.
The plaintiffs accused Shell of human rights abuses against the
Ogoni people, of arming the Nigerian army and of being complicit in
the extrajudicial killing of the Ogoni Nine in 1995. The trial
against Shell was due to start on 26 May, but was then delayed
indefinitely.
On Tuesday 9 June 2009, we learned that Shell had settled the case
out of court for a sum of $15.5 million, which included a $5
million contribution to a trust for the Ogoni people. The
settlement was offered with no admission of liability from the
defendant. While the settlement is being seen as a victory for
human rights, it raises a number of worrying issues in law suits by
local indigenous communities against multinationals who are
committing human rights violations and environmental crimes.
It is impossible to separate the actions of the oil multinationals
operating across the Niger Delta from the actions of the Nigerian
government in the region. The relationship between the two, though
complex, is based on profit over and above any other consideration.
In exchange for the oil removed from the Niger Delta, the oil
companies, with the support of the Nigerian state, have left behind
an ecological disaster, reducing whole towns and villages to
rubble, causing death by fire and pollution, and leaving behind the
guns of the Nigerian military. Shell and the other oil companies in
the region have one of the worst environmental records in the
world. This includes pollution of the air and drinking water, the
degradation of farm land, damage to aquatic life, the disruption of
drainage systems, and oil fires, which have left people dead and
with horrific burn injuries and no medical care. The causes of the
damage to the environment are oil spills from pipelines and flow
stations - with many of the former running through villages and in
front of people's homes - and gas flaring, which produces toxic
gases and releases poisons into the atmosphere.
The late Professor Claude Ake, who was killed in a plane crash in
1996, used the term 'the militarisation of commerce' to describe
the relationship between Shell and the Nigerian military
government. What he was referring to was the unholy alliance which
led to the collaboration between Shell and the military in planning
the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine and thousands of
others that have been maimed and killed since 1990. Though Ake was
referring to the military government of the late Sani Abacha,
little has changed since 1995, despite the country's so-called
'democracy'. On the contrary: more violence has been unleashed
under the governments of Olusegun Obasanjo and Umaru Yar'Adua than
under military dictatorships. Only a month ago the Joint Task Force
for the Niger Delta (JTF) of the Nigerian military, under the
pretext of rooting out militants who were supposed to be hiding in
the creeks, launched a violent, sustained attack of collective
punishment on communities in the region, this time on the Warri
South West communities. The numbers of the dead are not yet known,
but estimates run between a few hundred and a few thousand, with
some 25,000 displaced. Young men are particularly at risk. They are
the ones who in the past have being picked up by the JTF on the
pretence that they are militants, when in fact their only crime is
that they are just young men.
It is in this context that we need to view the settlement agreed
between the families of the Ogoni Nine and Shell. The emotional
drain on the plaintiffs in this case cannot be underestimated and
at some point they all need to be able to rebuild their lives and
look to the future. There is also no doubt that this is a victory
in that it brought a multinational to the brink of trial. This is
no small feat. It is representative of an emerging movement that
has successfully called multinationals to account for their
actions. The case adds to the legal precedent set by the Bowoto v.
Chevron trial last year (the plaintiffs lost the case), and
reinforces the fact that US-registered companies who commit
atrocities overseas can be brought to trial, even if justice is not
meted out in every case. At the same time, we need to be aware that
despite the courts in Nigeria awarding $1.5 billion against Shell
to the Ijaw Aborigene of Bayelsa State, Shell has so far refused to
pay out. This is clearly a reflection of the complete disdain and
lack of respect shown by multinational companies towards decisions
of the courts in Nigeria.
This case was brought by the families of the Ogoni Nine and not on
behalf of the Ogoni people. How much of a victory is this, and what
are the implications for the other law suits against Shell and
possibly other oil companies operating in Nigeria? The sum of $15.5
million, while constituting a considerable amount to the
plaintiffs, is but a drop in the ocean of oil for Shell. Although
legally the settlement includes a non-admission of guilt by Shell,
there is some grounds for celebration by the Ogoni Nine, since the
general public will draw its own conclusions as to the significance
of Shell's out-of-court settlement. But the settlement also sends
out the message that oil companies can seemingly buy impunity for
the price of one day's worth of Ogoni, Ijaw or Itsekiri oil.
While the families of the Ogoni Nine can celebrate a partial
victory and breathe a sigh of relief from the fact that the years
of anxiety and hard work in bringing the case to court are now
over, it is hard not to think that there will remain a bitter
after-taste of polluted waters, poisoned rivers, noxious gases,
toxic fumes and destroyed communities living under stress and
exploitation a burden to be borne by the Ogoni people over
decades. The destruction of their communities and environment has
to be laid at the doors of both multinational corporations like
Shell and the Nigerian state.
That Shell were forced to pay albeit without an admission of
guilt is a victory of sorts. But we should be careful, in the
euphoria of the moment, not to confuse that victory with justice.
It is justice neither for the families of the Ogoni Nine or for the
Ogoni people. That struggle for justice, and the bringing to
justice of those who carry out such crimes, remains the task of the
day. Like the Ogoni struggle begun by Ken Saro-Wiwa which became
the inspiration for other Niger Delta nationalities to demand
justice and equity from the oil companies and Nigerian State this
trial was also an inspiration to others and as such was always
bigger than just the plaintiffs' case. We should remember that
right now both the military violence and environmental abuse
continue to destroy people's lives. The final question is whether
Shell, Elf, Mobil and Chevron will now be motivated to clean up
their mess, or will things simply remain the same?
There are a number of other outstanding cases against Shell in
Nigeria, including a class action suit by the Ogoni people. It is
unlikely that they will be offered an out-of-court settlement and
we owe a duty to the Ogoni people to ensure that justice is done,
and seen to be done, by ensuring widespread public discussion about
and support for their struggles for justice.
'Sleep Well, Ken
And smile at your killers
For though a few feet underground
The struggle you started continues'
Danson Kahyana
Recommended Books on Oil & the Niger Delta
J. Timothy Hunt, The Politics of Bones: Dr. Owens Wiwa and the
Struggle for Nigeria's Oil
http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0771041586
Ike Ononta, Oronto Douglas, and George Monbiot, Where Vultures
Feast: Shell, Human Rights and Oil
http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?1859844731
Ken Saro-Wiwa, Sozaboy
http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0582236991
Nicholas Shaxson, Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil
http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?023060532X
Michael Watts and Ed Kashi, Curse Of The Black Gold: 50 Years of
Oil in the Niger Delta
http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?1576874265
Ken Wiwa, In the Shadow of a Saint: A Son's Journey to Understand
His Father's Legacy
http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?1586420259
Stop Nigerian Military Attacks in the Niger Delta!
Africa Faith and Justice Network
http://www.afjn.org
http://tinyurl.com/lo8mgn
"The helicopter gunships hovered low over a crowded street, where
people had gathered to celebrate an annual festival, and opened
fire with machine guns and rockets" --BBC Report
On May 14th, the Nigerian Joint Military Task Force (JTF), laid
siege to towns along the coast, attacking from air, land, and sea.
Although the Nigerian government maintains that the attack was
targeting militant groups that obstruct oil flows, what transpired
was a massive assault on the communities and villages of Gbaramatu
kingdom.
Thousands of lives have been lost and upwards of 20,000 persons
displaced in the ongoing military offensive. This is an inexcusable
abuse of military power and authority by a government which is
heavily supported by the United States.
Nigeria is slated to receive approximately $4.5 million in military
training, hardware sales, and counter-terrorism and
counter-narcotics education in 2010. It is intolerable that the
U.S. taxpayer must subsidize a repressive government's slaughter of
its civilians. President Obama should make it clear to Nigerian
President Umaru Yar'Adua that the U.S. will not support leaders who
abuse their own citizens.
Voice your concern today by signing this letter to President Obama!
Go to: http://tinyurl.com/lo8mgn
4000 additional troops deployed to beef up JTF
From Murphy Ganagana, Abuja
Friday, June 5, 2009
http://nigerdeltasolidarity.wordpress.com
Posted by Inemo Samiama
After about 10 days of fragile peace, tension has erupted again in
the coastal Ijaw communities in Delta State, as three more villages
were razed by troops of the Joint Military Task Force [JTF] in the
troubled Niger Delta region between late Wednesday and 3.30pm
yesterday.
This is coming barely 24 hours after the House of Representatives
made a U-turn from its earlier support for military action and
cautioned authorities at the Defence Headquarters against full
application of force in routing out militants from their various
camps and hideouts.
Dependable sources hinted Daily Sun that JTF troops on Wednesday
stormed Tungbo and Akangbene villages with a large contingent using
over 10 gunboats.
During the operation, entire structures and other properties were
reduced to rubble. The two Ijaw villages are in Gbaramatu Kingdom,
in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State
Daily Sun further gathered that just as the dust from the surprise
attack was yet to settle, the JTF at about 3.30pm yesterday, raided
Goba Town, another Ijaw community on the fringes of Chanomi Creek,
which is also said to have been completely razed. The casualty
figure including the dead and wounded could not be ascertained as
at the time of filing this report, but over 2000 villagers
comprising mostly women, children and the aged, are said to be
currently trapped in the mangrove forests.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has reportedly approved the deployment of
4000 additional troops to beef up the JTF operations. Top security
sources said the troops are made up of soldiers drawn from various
military formations, and are expected to arrive the JTF
headquarters by weekend or early next week.
However, the House of Representatives had on Tuesday at a
closed-door meeting of its Committees on the Army, Navy, Air Force,
and Defence, attended by the three Service Chiefs, the Minister of
State for Defence, Ademola Seriki, and the Chief of Defence Staff,
Air Chief Marshall Paul Dike, kicked against full military action
in the Niger Delta on the grounds that "we are not fighting war
against Nigerians".
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with
a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
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