Larry Bowoto's Nigerian Claims Against Chevron All False?

A trial starts in September 2008 in San Francisco federal court against Chevron by Larry Bowoto who claims that he and his companions were attacked by Chevron Nigeria and the Nigerian government. But after almost a decade, Bowoto’s legal team very quietly dropped half the case against Chevron earlier this year, raising questions about how real Bowoto and the others’ claims are against Chevron. It is looking more and more likely that Bowoto and his gang took over the Chevron oil platform in a hostage takeover which is a far cry from their claims of human rights abuse.


How can Bowoto claim to be abused when it was he and 150 of his gang members who took over the Chevron platform and held Chevron’s employees hostage until they could be rescued?


The Chevron Nigeria Bowoto case looks like an abuse of the Alien Tort Statute—this is the law that allows foreigners to sue American companies in U.S. courts and try to get compensation even when the foreigners have no evidence or proof that anything was done wrong to them. Perhaps we should look at reforming and rewriting this law as it is abused by so many foreigners as well as American plaintiffs attorneys who are looking for money, not justice.