In 1990, residents of the Ogoni region of Nigeria launched a peaceful resistance movement against the foreign oil companies operating in the region. A lawsuit claims that in response, the oil companies enlisted the aid of the Nigerian government to suppress the resistance. From 1993 through 1995, the lawsuit alleges, Nigerian military forces attacked Ogoni villages, killing, beating and raping residents and destroying and looting property.
The Ogoni plaintiffs brought their lawsuit in U.S. court under the Alien Tort Statute, accusing Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading Co. of aiding and abetting the human
rights violations.
