Chevron Paid Nigerian Troops After Alleged Killing
Villagers in Lawsuit Say 4 People Died - Oil Company Questions if Attacks Took Place
by David R. Baker

Nigerian soldiers guarding Chevron oil rigs billed the company for $109.25 a day after they allegedly attacked two villages in the volatile country, killing four people and setting fire to homes.

The company paid.

The money was requested in a small invoice -- stamped with Chevron's logo and the name of its Nigerian subsidiary -- that surfaced this year as part of a lawsuit against the San Ramon oil giant. Residents of the Opia and Ikenyan villages are suing Chevron in San Francisco's federal court, trying to hold the firm responsible for the fatal attacks in 1999.

In cramped handwriting, the invoice asks for 15,000 naira to pay 23 soldiers who responded to an alleged assault by men from Opia against a Chevron oil rig, called Searrex. Villagers said they had gone to the rig to meet with Chevron representatives and returned home to see soldiers open fire from a hovering helicopter.

Chevron Paid Nigerian Troops After Alleged Killing

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