The Ogoni people are one of the many indigenous peoples in the Niger Delta region of southeast Nigeria.They number about a half million people and live in a 404-square-mile (1,050 km2) homeland which they also refer to as Ogoni, or Ogoniland.
The Ogoni rose to international attention after a massive public protest campaign against Shell Oil, led by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
A few days ago on 9 June, Royal Dutch Shell agreed a $15.5m out-of-court settlement in a lawsuit accusing it of complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria brought by the Ogoni campaign.
This is good news for the campaign and for The Body Shop who supported the Ogoni cause. The lawsuit was initiated 13 years ago by relatives of nine anti-oil campaigners, including the family of author Ken Saro-Wiwa, who were hanged in 1995 by Nigeria's then military rulers.
Those executed were members of the Ogoni ethnic group from the Niger Delta who had been campaigning for the rights of the local people and protesting at pollution caused by the oil industry. It was alleged that Shell was complicit in abuses by Nigeria's former military government against campaigners in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
The oil giant strongly denies any wrongdoing and says the payment is part of a "process of reconciliation". US$5m will go into a trust to benefit the people of Ogoniland. The rest will go to the plaintiffs and to pay the costs of litigation. The Ogoni cause was an important human rights and environmental campaign for The Body Shop from 1993 when Anita Roddick met several Ogoni people attending a human rights conference in Vienna and became passionate about their cause.
The Body Shop "Someone's Making A Killing in Nigeria" Window Poster (1995)The Body Shop ran a global lobbying, PR and advertising campaign on behalf of Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people for three years, supporting a network of Ogoni’s indigenous people’s, green, human rights and free speech organizations. With 500,000 Ogoni people living in the Niger delta, the campaign raised awareness of the repression and environmental damaged which benefited Nigeria’s elite - especially under military dictatorships - and oil firms, particularly Shell.
The objective of The Body Shop campaign was to generate global outcry and seek justice for Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people, persuade Shell to clean up the environment and ensure greater local economic benefits. The result of the ruling between Shell and the relatives of the campaigners killed is a significant step for the campaign for justice to the Ogoni people.
Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1993. Photograph: Greenpeace/AFPKen Wiwa, 40, son of Ken Saro-Wiwa, said his father would have been happy with the result. We join the families in celebrating this ruling. Ken Saro-Wiwa proudly defended the Ogoni people and paid the ultimate sacrifice and he remains deeply admired for the strong leadership and integrity he displayed. For more about Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni campaign, click here www.remembersarowiwa.com.
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More:
- Shell pays out $15.5m over Saro-Wiwa killing (Via The Guardian)
- Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
- http://remembersarowiwa.com/
- Watch the videos below:
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