Shell has ducked out of the major international trial it faced over human rights abuses in Nigeria, and last night opened its wallet to fork out $15.5m (£9.6m) in a last minute settlement. After 13 years of bringing this case to court, it's a relief for the relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others executed for campaigning against Shell's human rights abuse and environmental crimes in the Niger Delta.
Rather than face a damaging trial by jury, the oil giant has bought its way out and while Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr is clearly relieved, Shell still refuse to admit their role in the deaths of the nine activists. Not only that, the evidence against the company will not be revealed in court, with all the publicity that would bring.
"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 of Shell in the Guardian, putting a great deal of spin on the reasons for the u-turn.
Even though the trial will no longer go ahead, campaigners who worked on the case are saying this is a wake-up call for multinationals who abuse people and the environment in pursuit of resources and profit.
But despite this victory, the situation in Nigeria is still far from good. Local people are often violently repressed in the rush to plunder the region's reserves of gas and oil, and the environmental devastation - oil spills, and incredibly wasteful gas flaring which creates huge greenhouse gas emissions - continues.
Shell still faces further legal challenges over its Niger Delta operations, so the company is not out of the firing line yet, and all the while more and more evidence accumulates of its appalling environmental and human rights track record.
