BREAKING: Wiwa vs Shell Trial Postponed

Shell is facing a groundbreaking lawsuit alleging it was complicit in the hanging of nine Nigerian human rights activists, including internationally-renowned playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa.

By Jeremy Scahill

A major lawsuit against Shell Oil Corporation brought by the family of slain poet/writer/activist Ken Saro-Wiwa has been postponed. It was scheduled to begin on Wednesday in federal court in New York. Shell is accused of being deeply complicit in the events that led to the Nigerian military junta’s execution of Saro-Wiwa and eight others on November 10, 1995. The “Ogoni 9” were hanged after a kangaroo trial where they were convicted of bogus charges and the dictatorship banned them from appealing their convictions. At the time of his death, Saro-Wiwa was an internationally-renowned poet, playwright and human rights activist. In his final statement at his trial before a military tribunal, Saro-Wiwa declared:

I have no doubt at all about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter on our journey. Neither imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate victory. I repeat that we all stand before history. I and my colleagues are not the only ones on trial. Shell is here on trial… In my innocence of the false charge I face here, in my utter conviction, I call upon the Ogoni people, the peoples of the Niger Delta and the oppressed ethnic minorities of Nigeria to stand up now and fight fearlessly and peacefully for their rights. History is on their side. God is on their side.

According to a post today on the ShellGuilty website reacting to the trial’s postponement:

No new opening date was given and rumors are swirling that Shell must be scrambling at the 11th hour for an out-of-court settlement. It’s hard not to speculate but the plaintiffs, defendants, and court haven’t said anything else about it.

I’m not so sure about that theory. These corporations have shown they are willing to fight (and spend a lot of money) to defend their corporate brand and bottom line. The corporate killers certainly can take some heart in the outcome of a recent lawsuit against Chevron over the killing of indigenous villagers in the Niger Delta. Moreover, the plaintiffs are motivated by a desire for justice, not money. In any case, demonstrations are still moving ahead tomorrow in New York, London and elsewhere. See here for details.

The rallies follow a crackdown today on a protest in Ogoniland, Saro-Wiwa’s home community in Nigeria:

[T]roops broke up peaceful protests in Nigeria today, where activists from Ogoni and other communities were barred from solidarity rallies and some arrested by soldiers attached to the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Rivers State. Most of those arrested are women (in 5 buses) were on their way to Ken Saro-Wiwa’s village for a rally to protest the complicity of Shell and the Nigerian government in the Ogoni murders in advance of the opening of the trial in New York.

Amy Goodman, with whom I traveled to Nigeria, including Ogoniland (where we met Ken Saro-Wiwa’s family), did great coverage of this lawsuit on Democracy Now! today.