Three decades after his execution by Nigeria's military regime, Ken Saro-Wiwa has been pardoned. President Bola Tinubu conferred national honors Thursday on Saro-Wiwa, who had been convicted of murder, and the eight activists he was hanged with in 1995. There were suspicions that the Ogoni Nine were killed for leading protests against oil companies operating in Nigeria's Ogoniland. Although Shell denied involvement, it paid $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the deaths in 2009. On Nigeria's Democracy Day, Tinubu recognized the activists as heroes for their "outstanding contributions" to democracy, the BBC reports. Relatives and others praised the pardons as courageous but insufficient.
An organization led by Saro-Wiwa, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, welcomed Tinubu's act but said a pardon implies there was wrongdoing, though "no crime ever took place." The widow of another member of the Ogoni Nine similarly thanked Tinubu but called on him to "properly declare" the group innocent, saying a "pardon is not granted to the innocent." She also said she wants a new trial for her husband, per the BBC. And Amnesty International said the pardons fall "far short of the justice the Ogoni Nine need" while insisting the oil companies be held accountable for environmental damage still occurring in the country.
The issues are scheduled to go to trial in 2026. Two Ogoniland communities argued in court in London this year that Shell should be held responsible for oil pollution that occurred between 1989 and 2020; the company says it did nothing wrong and blames the spills on sabotage, theft, and illegal refining.
- In an analysis, Foreign Policy looks at how the environmental movement in Nigeria has stalled since Ken Saro-Wiwa drew worldwide attention to it.
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