Yahoo! News: Police arrest activists protesting against Shell in Nigerian oil city: “On November 10, several thousand Nigerians attended a public ceremony in Port Harcourt to mark the ninth anniversary of the execution of writer and historic MOSOP leader and founder Ken Saro-Wiwa. Saro-Wiwa and eight of his MOSOP comrades were executed in Port Harcourt on November 10, 1995, after the then military regime convicted them of the murder of four local Ogoni chiefs. The activists had denied the charges, and their execution triggered a flurry of international sanctions against Nigeria, including its suspension from the Commonwealth." (ShellNews.net) Posted 25 Nov 04
LAGOS (AFP) - Police in southern Nigeria arrested three activists of a minority rights group who were protesting against the activities of the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell, the group's spokesman said.
Alleging that police used teargas "and brutalised many of us (during) a peaceful demonstration in front of Shell offices," Bari Ara-Kpalap said the three arrested remained in detention, "while more than 20 of us were injured."
A police spokeswoman in Port Harcourt, Ireju Barasua, said she had not received word of the incident.
Hundreds of activists of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) staged a peaceful protest outside Shell headquarters in Port Harcourt, capital of oil-rich Rivers State, against alleged "destabilisation, destruction of ecosystem and militarisation of Ogoniland," Ara-Kpalap told AFP in a telephone interview.
"We are also protesting against moves by Shell to resume oil activities in Ogoniland without due consultation with interested parties," he added.
Shell was forced to suspend operations in Ogoniland more than 10 years ago following bloody unrest and protests against the company.
MOSOP's lawyers are trying to secure the release of the three activists from a police station in Port Harcourt, Ara-Kpalap said.
MOSOP was founded in 1993 to campaign against alleged environmental pollution of the Niger Delta by foreign oil companies, especially Shell, which produces more than a third of Nigeria's 2.5 million barrels of crude per day.
On November 10, several thousand Nigerians attended a public ceremony in Port Harcourt to mark the ninth anniversary of the execution of writer and historic MOSOP leader and founder Ken Saro-Wiwa.
Local non-governmental organisations and human and minority rights bodies as well as top government and legislative officials also attended the ceremony, where the decision was made to stage Wednesday's protest, Ara-Kpalap said.
Saro-Wiwa and eight of his MOSOP comrades were executed in Port Harcourt on November 10, 1995, after the then military regime convicted them of the murder of four local Ogoni chiefs.
The activists had denied the charges, and their execution triggered a flurry of international sanctions against Nigeria, including its suspension from the Commonwealth. Nigeria was readmitted in May 1999 following its return to elected rule.
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