After over a month of court legal battles in the case of Larry Bowoto v. Chevron Corporation, the jury only took three days to find the oil company not guilty of 58 counts of assault, torture, and other alledged violations.
The lawyer for Bowoto said they would pursue an appeal, but I have to ask who's backrolling their legal bill -- it's certainly not Bowoto.
At any rate, I talked to Chevron spokesperson Don Campbell about today's outcome. Campbell said that it was a victory for American companies doing business around the World who need to protect their employees from harm.
Indeed, Royal Dutch Shell faces a similar case in New York City next week and again involving Nigeria.
Thus,it seems the real organization that should be on trial is the government of Nigeria, which has a poor record of providing good economic development to the people who need it the most.
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