Third witness enters the courtroom now #Kiobel amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
He says the Nigerian police gave him and the other prosecution witnesses a written statement, previously prepared, which accused Ken Saro Wiwa, Dr. Kiobel and the rest of the Ogoni 9 of the killings.
He says at that time, if people did not do what the police asked of them, they would be in danger. This is why he signed this statement.
Like the other two witnesses, he says he was given 30.000 naira in cash in return for signing the statement. He claims this money was handed over in the presence of the police commissioner and Shell staff, who described the money as a gift from Shell.
He also claims he was offered a job with the local government, which he accepted, and that he, together with other witnesses, was trained on what to say during the court hearing.
He claims Shell's lawyer was carrying a briefcase of money that was later distributed to the witnesses.
But after all, he says, he did not make a statement in court against Saro Wiwa and the rest of the Ogoni 9. He says he could not sleep at night as he knew the men were innocent. He could not bring himself to lie as this would go against the Bible.
He claims he was trained by police and others twice a week. He also claims that after the last session, they were joined by a man he believed to be Shell's lawyer. But he cannot remember his name.
He says he then decided to go into hiding. He was scared as the police and Shell were "watching them". For this reason he decided to flee to Benin.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.