Royal Dutch Shell, on Tuesday agreed to pay a settlement of $15.5 Million (N3 billion) over the killing of novelist and environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight other Ogoni leaders.
Recall that Saro-Wiwa was sentenced to death by hanging by a military tribunal set up by late dictator, Sani Abacha, in 2005.
Shell agreed to the settlement a day before a federal court in New York, United States, was about to rule on a case that Shell collaborated with the Nigerian Government in the execution of the Ogoni Nine, as the executed community leaders were referred to in the media.
Oddly, both the Nigerian government and Shell Nigeria still maintain that there was no wrongdoing involved in the hanging of the Ogoni Nine.
“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,” Malcolm Brinded, Shell director, said.
