Amnesty International has criticised the posthumous pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu to environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his co-campaigners, describing it as insufficient and calling instead for a full exoneration.
Saro-Wiwa, a prominent author and leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), was executed on November 10, 1995, alongside Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Felix Nuate, Paul Levula, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, and Daniel Gbokoo. Known collectively as the Ogoni Nine, the activists were convicted by a military tribunal under the regime of General Sani Abacha following a trial widely condemned as unjust.
During his Democracy Day address on June 12, President Tinubu issued a presidential pardon for the group. However, Amnesty International described the gesture as falling “far short” of delivering true justice.
“This is welcome news, but it falls far short of the justice the Ogoni Nine need and deserve,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, in a statement issued on Friday. “The Nigerian government must formally recognise that they are innocent of any crime and fully exonerate them.”
Sanusi accused the military government of using the executions to stifle environmental protests in the oil-rich Niger Delta and shield multinational oil companies from scrutiny. “The Ogoni Nine were brutally executed by a regime intent on concealing the environmental crimes of Shell and other oil firms that continue to harm the Niger Delta,” he said.
He urged the current administration to go beyond symbolic gestures and deliver meaningful justice by addressing long-standing environmental degradation in the region. “Full justice for the Ogoni Nine is only a first step. The government must also ensure Shell and other companies are held accountable, pay full compensation, and clean up the damage caused by decades of oil pollution,” Sanusi added.
Amnesty International’s call adds renewed pressure on the Nigerian government and oil companies to reckon with the environmental and human rights legacy of decades-long oil exploration in the Niger Delta.
