Dutch Shell Says Settlement Of Human Rights Cases In Niger Delta “Humanitarian”

Royal Dutch Shell, accused of setting up pipelines through villages in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, and thus violating several environmental standards including deforestation and pollution, has agreed on a $15.5 million out of court settlement. Dutch shell settled on June 8 to 15.5 million to go to the families who suffered deaths, torture and physical abuse at the hands of Nigerian security forces which Dutch shell was accused of seeking “assistance” from to protect its interest in the region. Nigerian security forces raped, abused and executed villagers and human rights and environmental campaigners who protested Shell’s presence in the region.

The parties, Wiwa v. Shell agreed to settle human rights claims charging the Royal Dutch/Shell company, its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC or Shell Nigeria), and the former head of its Nigerian operation, Brian Anderson, with complicity in the torture, killing, and other abuses of Ogoni leader Ken Saro-Wiwa and other non-violent Nigerian activists in the mid-1990s in the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta.

Royal Dutch Shell, plc (Shell) began oil production in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in 1958 and has a long history of working closely with the Nigerian government to quell popular opposition to its presence in the region. At the request of Shell, and with Shell’s assistance and financing, Nigerian soldiers used deadly force and massive, brutal raids against the Ogoni people throughout the early 1990s to repress a growing movement against the oil company. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), EarthRights International (ERI) and other human rights attorneys intended on suing Shell for human rights violations against the Ogoni. The case was set to go to trial in New York City until the settlement on June 8.

The settlement will compensate 10 plaintiffs, who include family members of the deceased victims; establish a Trust for $5 million dollars to benefit the Ogoni people; and cover a portion of plaintiffs’ legal fees and costs.

Plaintiff Ken Saro-Wiwa, Jr., the son of Ken Saro-Wiwa explained, “In reaching this settlement, we were very much aware that we are not the only Ogonis who have suffered in our struggle with Shell, which is why we insisted on creating the Kiisi Trust.” The Kiisi Trust—Kiisi means “Progress” in the plaintiffs’ Ogoni language—will allow for initiatives in Ogoni for educational endowments, skills development, agricultural development, women’s programs, small enterprise support, and adult literacy.