It was a major victory yesterday for the wives of four slain Ogoni leaders. A Dutch court gave an interim ruling in favour the women who sued oil giant Shell.
The women, Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula, sued Shell for its alleged role in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of their husbands in 1995 by the administration of former military Head of State, the late Gen. Sani Abacha.
Shell, which was extracting oil from Ogoni, had argued that the District Court of The Hague lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit. But the court ruled otherwise.
