youth training scheme in Ogoniland". Shell Oil has maintained that the issues of pollution of the Niger Delta is brought about by illegal refining of crude oil, sabotage and theft of oil field infrastructure. Research by Amnesty International, CEHRD and Friends of the Earth provide examples of cases where Shell claimed the cause of a spill was sabotage, but this claim was subsequently called into question by other investigations or the courts. This evidence, which includes video footage of an oil spill investigation where the cause of the spill was changed, by Shell, from "equipment failure" to "sabotage, following the field investigation, has been shared with Shell. Under Nigerian law the operating company is responsible for cleaning up oil spills from its facilities, even if the spill is the result of third-party action. Therefore, the human and environmental impact of Shell's failure to properly clean up pollution cannot be defended by reference to illegal activity that, allegedly, caused the oil spills. Nigeria military assaults In the beginning of 1996, several human rights groups brought cases to hold Shell accountable for alleged human rights violations in Nigeria, including summary execution, crimes against humanity, torture, inhumane treatment and arbitrary arrest and detention. In particular, Shell stood accused of collaborating in the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other leaders of the Ogoni tribe of southern Nigeria, who were hanged in 1995 by Nigeria's then military rulers. The lawsuits were brought against Royal Dutch Shell and Brian Anderson, the head of its Nigerian operation. In 2009, Shell agreed to pay $15.5m in a legal settlement. Shell has not accepted any liability over the allegations against it. Shell has also been accused of complicity in the deaths of villagers in 1990. During peaceful protests at Umuechem village, the company had requested the assistance of a paramilitary police unit. According to Amnesty International, the company should have known the risks as there had been many violent incidents involving the Nigerian government in Ogoniland. The police attacked the village with guns and grenades, killing 80 people and burning 595 houses. In 2010, a leaked cable revealed Shell boasting about having inserted staff into all the main ministries of the Nigerian government and knowing everything that was being done in those ministries. Court documents released in 2009 have revealed that in the 1990s, Shell routinely worked with Nigeria's military and mobile police to subdue resistance to its