Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay 15.5 million US dollars to settle the 10-year legal battle surrounding the death of the Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Relatives of Mr Saro-Wiwa hold the Anglo-Dutch multinational partly responsible for his execution 14 years ago. For years he was regarded as the voice of the Ogoni people and their non-violent protest campaign in the Niger delta region. The campaign focused primarily on the environmental damage caused by oil extraction.

Following a show trial, Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed by the authorities in 1995 along with eight other activists. His relatives claim that Shell had been pressuring the Nigerian military junta of the time to take action against the activists.

Shell denies the accusation and insists the settlement of the case is not an admission of guilt, but a humanitarian gesture. One-third of the money will go into a fund for the Ogoni.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs issued a joint statement: "We hope that this settlement provides another building block in the efforts to forge a legal system that holds violators accountable wherever they may be and prevents future violations."