Ogoni group says Shell imported arms

The leader of an Ogoni minority activist group has accused oil giant Shell of importing into Nigeria arms and ammunition used by security forces for repression in the Niger Delta, newspapers reported on Thursday.

Ledum Mitee of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) was testifying before the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission in the oil industry capital of Port Harcourt. The Commission was set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo to investigate abuses spanning the past 30 years and foster national reconciliation.

“We are aware and we have available documents showing that around the period of what is called the Ogoni crisis, from 1993 to 1994, Shell was engaged in the importation of arms and ammunition into this country,” Mitee was quoted as saying in ‘The Guardian’, a Lagos daily.

Shell denied the allegations through its lawyer, but admitted purchasing “107 Berretta pistols 15 years ago” for use by policemen assigned to the company in protecting its facilities and employees against criminals, the paper reported.

The chairman of the commission, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, asked the lawyers for MOSOP and Shell to meet and work out modalities for reconciliation between the two parties. “This is one of the most favourable opportunities for Shell and MOSOP to meet and reconcile,” he said.