Shell calls $15.5M 'humanitarian gesture'

NEW YORK, June 9 (UPI) -- Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said its $15.5 million settlement of a lawsuit in the 1995 death of a Nigerian environmental activist was a "humanitarian gesture."

Shell said its compensation to the family of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and to a social trust fund in Nigeria was not an admission of guilt.

The plaintiffs accused Shell of pressuring the former military regime in Nigeria to silence Saro-Wiwa, who founded the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni Peoples in 1990 in the African country's oil-rich delta.

"Shell has always maintained the allegations were false," Executive Director of Exploration & Production Malcolm Brinded said in a statement. "We believe the right way forward is to focus on the future for Ogoni people."

The legal battle began in 1995 after Saro-Wiwa, a vocal critic of Shell's environmental practices, and eight other activists were hanged by Nigeria's military government.

The plaintiffs included Saro-Wiwa's son Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr.

In a statement in New York, where the suit was filed, Shell said it tried to halt the executions, which it called "tragic events."

"Shell ... attempted to persuade the government of the day to grant clemency," the statement said.

With the $15.5 million settlement Shell was "making a humanitarian gesture to set up a trust fund to benefit the Ogoni people," the company said.