Shell pays $16m to settle Nigeria rights case

Oil giant Shell has agreed to pay a $15.5 million (£9.6m) settlement to end a lawsuit alleging the firm was complicit in the execution of civilians by Nigeria's former military regime. But Europe's largest oil company has acknowledged no wrongdoing and said it agreed to the payment to aid the "process of reconciliation".

The lawsuit claimed that in the 1990s, Shell officials helped provide Nigerian police with weapons, participated in security sweeps of the oil-rich Niger Delta, and asked government troops to shoot villagers protesting against a new pipeline.

The plaintiffs also alleged that Shell helped the government capture and hang six civilians in 1995, including the poet Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Mr Saro-Wiwa, leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, led rallies against Shell and blamed the company for oil spills and gas fires in the Ogoni region.

Shell has consistently maintained it never advocated violence and even lobbied Nigerian officials to grant Saro-Wiwa clemency.

In a written statement, Shell's executive director of exploration and production Malcolm Brinded said the gesture acknowledged that "even though Shell had no part in the violence that took place, the plaintiffs and others have suffered."

The settlement will have a negligible affect on Shell's shareholders, amounting to less than one-hundredth of a percent of Shell's annual revenue.
The lawsuit, brought by the relatives of the hanged men, was heard in the US District Court in New York under a federal law which lets US courts hear human rights cases brought by foreign nationals over actions that take place overseas.

As well as compensating the families, the money from Shell will pay for years of legal fees.

Mr Saro-Wiwa's 40-year-old son, Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr, said he thought his father would be happy with the settlement and said it sent a strong message to multinationals operating in developing countries.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090609/twl-shell-pays-16m-to-settle-nigeria-rig-41f21e0.html