Bowoto v. Chevron Corp. was a lawsuit against Chevron Nigeria Ltd., a subsidiary of Chevron USA, which went to trial in 2008 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs, Nigerian citizens who had been injured during or who had survived human rights violations perpetrated by Nigerian military personnel, alleged that the Chevron subsidiary backed the military action and that the parent company thus should bear liability in US courts for the resultant fallout. The suit was decided on December 1, 2008, when nine jurors unanimously agreed Chevron was not liable for any of the numerous allegations. Judgment was entered the next day, officially exonerating Chevron. Background During the late 1990s, Nigerian community organizers were protesting Chevron's regional business activities, alleging negative environmental and social impact. These organizers sought cessation of Chevron’s conduct, reparations, and cleanup. The Bowoto case stems from two incidents in which Chevron was alleged to have hired or provided assistance to Nigerian security forces confronting local citizens. At dispute in the case was Chevron's role in these incidents and whether this role could be tied to liability for resultant damages. Between May 25 and 28, 1998, approximately 100 community protesters occupied the Parabe platform, a Chevron Nigeria-owned offshore drilling rig and construction barge located in the Niger delta. Chevron Nigeria was believed to have hired Nigerian government security agents to forcibly remove the protesters and to have provided the agents with Chevron-leased helicopters to transport their troops to and from the barge. The security forces allegedly shot four protesters, killing two, and captured and tortured a fifth. Chevron claimed the protesters were “kidnappers and extortionists who held 175 people hostage for three days while (Chevron Nigeria) vainly tried to negotiate with them.” On January 4, 1999, Nigerian government security forces launched an assault on the villages of Opia and Ikenyan, military personnel shooting civilians and setting fire to buildings. Chevron was alleged to have provided assistance to the Nigerian military forces in the form of helicopters and sea trucks piloted by Chevron Nigeria employees. Other accounts suggest Chevron hired the security forces and helped plan the attack on the villages in retaliation for the protesters’ activities. (On March 12, 2008, the Botowo plaintiffs' attorneys voluntarily dismissed claims connected to Opia and Ikenyan due to fraud or conflict of interest.) Legal claims With the assistance of several nonprofit organizations including the