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Nigeria victims hail $15.5 mln Shell payout
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Nigeria victims hail $15.5 mln Shell payout
AFP - 1 hour 43 minutes ago
LAGOS (AFP) - - Victims of murder, torture and other abuses by Nigeria's former military government on Tuesday hailed a landmark out-of-court settlement with Royal Dutch Shell over its alleged complicity in the crimes.
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Shell agreed on Monday in New York to pay out 15.5 million dollars (10.7 million euros) to relatives of Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and others executed in 1995 in what plaintiffs said was a campaign of repression backed by the oil giant.
The settlement brings to an end a long battle by the Nigerian victims and means that Shell avoids a potentially embarrassing court case while having to accept no actual wrongdoing.
Saro-Wiwa had led a non-violent campaign to protest environmental destruction and abuses against the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta before he was hanged along with other activists after his trial in a military court.
"We welcome the 15.5 million dollars compensation for the illegal killings of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other eight Ogoni leaders," Bariara Kpalap, spokesman for the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), told AFP.
But Kpalap insisted Shell must still address the issue of environmental pollution and change the way it does business in the oil-rich Niger Delta, where farmers and fishermen are being driven off.
"For a lasting peace in the Ogoni land, Shell has to change its attitude towards the people. Shell should treat us as civilised human beings and not those to be exploited because of our oil," he said.
Part of the Shell payout will go to the plaintiffs, part to a trust to benefit the Ogoni, and some to pay the costs of litigation.
Shell maintained its innocence and highlighted what it called a "humanitarian gesture" to help the Ogoni.
"While we were prepared to go to court to clear our name, we believe the right way forward is to focus on the future for Ogoni people," said Malcolm Brinded, executive director for exploration and production.
"We believe this settlement will assist the process of reconciliation and peace in Ogoni land, which is our primary concern."
The Nigerian plaintiffs, represented by US human rights lawyers, brought the suit under the little used Alien Tort Claims Act, a 1789 US law occasionally dusted off for use against multinational corporations.
"Today, plaintiffs and defendants reached a settlement in the human rights cases brought against Royal Dutch Petroleum Company," the lawyers announced in New York on Monday.
"We want to express our satisfaction that these cases have provided the plaintiffs with substantial compensation for their claims."
The case, seen as a landmark in the human rights legal field, had been due to go to trial on May 27 but was repeatedly delayed in the run-up to Monday's announcement of a settlement.
Marco Simons, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, described the agreement as a "very significant milestone."
While a settlement of 15.5 million dollars will hardly dent the coffers of an oil giant like Shell, he said it was a large enough sum to ensure other international companies dealing with violent governments took note.
"Shell (will now) think that every time that somebody is injured by soldiers on one of their projects where they are providing support and assistance and encouragement, that each one of those incidents is a million dollar incident."
The settlement is not the end of Shell's legal troubles. Separate challenges are being mounted in New York by an Ogoni and by environmental activists in the Netherlands.
Human rights lawyers in New York hailed the agreement as a precedent for holding Shell and other oil giants responsible for activities in countries with repressive governments.
"Shell will be dragged from the boardroom to the courthouse, time and again, until the company addresses the injustices at the root of the Niger Delta crisis and put an end to its environmental devastation," said Elizabeth Bast, international programme director for Friends of the Earth US.
Han Shan, at Oil Change International, said: "This case should be a wake-up call to multinational corporations that they will be held accountable for violations of international law, no matter where they occur."
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Enlarge Photo
Nigerian environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa takes part in an 'Ogani Day' demonstration in 1993. Victims of murder, torture and other abuses by Nigeria's former military government have hailed a landmark out-of-court settlement with Royal Dutch Shell over its alleged complicity in the crimes.
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