Shell, one of the world’s biggest oil companies, will go on trial over allegations that it was complicit in the execution of a well-known Nigerian environmental activist and author.

However, the forthcoming trial was hit by further delay today after Judge Wood announced jury selection would not begin tomorrow as planned.

Two lawsuits in a New York court accuse the company of colluding with the then Nigerian government in the execution of several leading campaigners in the oil industry, including Ken Saro-Wiwa.

The family of Mr Saro-Wiwa, who was 54 when he was hanged by the Nigerian government in 1995, have brought the lawsuit, filed by the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and co-counsel from EarthRights International, against Royal Dutch Shell, its subsidiary Shell Nigeria and the subsidiary's then chief executive, Brian Anderson.

If the action is successful, the trial will be a landmark case on how global companies can be held accountable for human rights abuses in countries in which they operate. It is a test for the Alien Torts Statute, which allows non-US citizens to file suits in US courts for alleged international human rights violations.

The climate of political unrest in Nigeria, one of Africa’s most oil-rich nations, is still a problem for companies operating in the country. Yesterday, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the rebel group, said that it had destroyed pipes run by Chevron, which caused the company to shut down operations totalling 100,000 barrels per day. This morning, the price of Brent crude oil fell 21 cents to $60 a barrel.

Mr Saro-Wiwa, the writer of Sozaboy, a novel in patois describing the effects of war on a simple Nigerian village boy, was one of eight activists executed on charges of murdering four political rivals.

He led campaigns against exploitation of oil in the homeland of the Ogoni, his tribe.

At the time of his execution, Sir John Major, then Prime Minister, described the death as “judicial murder”.

Commenting on the case, the novelist’s son, Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr said: “In a sense we already have a victory, because one of the things my father said was that Shell would one day have its day in court.

“We felt they had ducked their responsibility for what happened in Nigeria, so we wanted to fulfil that prediction."

Jan Nessel, of the Centre for Constitutional Rights, said: "Today will see Ken Saro-Wiwa's prophesy fulfilled that Shell would one day be on trial for what it did to the Ogoni people."

Shell vigorously denies all charges.

The company said today: "The allegations made in the complaints against Royal Dutch Shell concerning the 1995 executions of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight fellow Ogonis are false and without merit. Shell in no way encouraged or advocated any act of violence against them or their fellow Ogonis. We believe that the evidence will show clearly that Shell was not responsible for these tragic events."

It added: "The executions in 1995 of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight fellow Ogonis were tragic events that were carried out by the Nigerian government in power at the time.

"Shell attempted to persuade that government to grant clemency; to our deep regret, that appeal - and the appeals of many others - went unheard, and we were shocked and saddened when we heard the news. Shell remains committed to reconciliation, peace and return to normality in Ogoni land."

A spokesman for the Centre for Constitutional Rights, the non-profit group representing Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr and the other plaintiffs, said no new date had been set for the session.

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