Nov 25, 2008 9:34 pm US/Pacific
Chevron Nigerian Death Trial Goes To SF Jury
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
A federal jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon on a human rights lawsuit filed against Chevron Corp. by Nigerian villagers over a violent end to a protest on offshore oil platform 10 years ago.
The deliberations came after a four-week trial in the court of U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in a lawsuit filed by 19 protesters or their relatives.
The plaintiffs claim San Ramon-based Chevron is liable for the death of one man and injuries to three others at the hands of Nigerian security forces summoned by Chevron's Nigerian subsidiary on May 28, 1998.
The actions by 17 Nigerian soldiers and military police put an end to a three-day takeover of the platform and a construction barge nine miles off the Nigerian coast by about 150 villagers who were seeking jobs and protesting environmental damage.
The Nigerians claim the protest was peaceful, while Chevron maintains its local executives had tried to resolve the situation through negotiation but feared workers on the barge were in danger.
Chevron attorney Robert Mittelstaedt told the jury during a closing argument Tuesday, "This was not a peaceful protest. It was an illegal invasion."
Mittelstaedt said the company didn't intend or expect the violent ending, saying, "No one from any Chevron company wanted anyone to be hurt or injured in any way."
Plaintiffs' lawyer Dan Stormer argued that protesters had been planning to leave peacefully and that Chevron was negligent in calling in the security forces, who included allegedly notoriously brutal mobile police known as "kill and go."
Stormer maintained the company was responsible for the injuries and death because it paid for the salaries, housing and helicopter transportation of the security forces.
He told the jury, "Our clients have come 8,000 miles from a foreign land to seek justice just 36 miles from San Ramon, where Chevron has its headquarters."
The plaintiffs are seeking financial compensation in an amount to be determined by the jury for alleged human rights violations, including torture and cruel treatment, as well as wrongful death, assault and negligence.
Jurors could take several days or more to reach a verdict because of the complexity of the case. The jury instructions are 57 pages long.
The plaintiffs in the case include Larry Bowoto, who was shot several times; Bassey Jeje, who was allegedly attacked and injured; and the widows and children of deceased protesters Arolika Irowarinum and Bola Oyinbo. Irowarinum was fatally shot by the security forces and Oyinbo was allegedly tortured in a Nigerian prison after the incident and died three years later.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments