Onyeche Wofurum Igwe
Ogoni community has reacted to President Bola Tinubu’s posthumous pardon of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others, who were executed in 1995.
Ogoni environmental activist, Celestine Akpobari, told journalists in Port Harcourt that the Ogoni people want exoneration, not pardon, for the Ogoni nine, adding that Ken Saro-Wiwa and the others committed no crime to warrant a presidential pardon in the first place.
The pardon was granted by Tinubu on Thursday, decades after the controversial execution of the Ogoni nine.
He expressed the sentiments of many in the Ogoni community, who feel that a pardon implies guilt, whereas they believe the Ogoni nine were unjustly accused and executed.
The activist also spoke about the posthumous national award conferred on the Ogoni nine, urging Tinubu to recognize the four Ogoni martyrs who were killed during the military regime of Sani Abacha.
He stated that these martyrs also deserve recognition and honor, calling on Tinubu to order a review of the trial that led to the execution of Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues. He insisted that anyone found to have played a wrongful role in the execution should be brought to justice.
Akpobari said: “The Ogoni people want exoneration, not pardon, for the Ogoni nine. Ken Saro-Wiwa and the others committed no crime to warrant a presidential pardon in the first place. A pardon implies guilt, whereas we believe the Ogoni nine were unjustly accused and executed.”
Another member of the Ogoni community, Solomon Lenu, the Convener of Ogoni Development Drive, in an interview, has described the presidential pardon as a “Greek gift” driven by ulterior motives, arguing that the tribunal that convicted the Ogoni nine was not a legitimate court of law, rendering the charges against them null and void.
He noted that Tinubu should have taken a more holistic approach by directing the Attorney General of the Federation to annul the judgment of the military tribunal.
Instead of opting for a pardon, according to him, the president could have cleared the names of the Ogoni nine and acknowledged the injustice they suffered.
He emphasized: “The presidential pardon is a ‘Greek gift’ driven by ulterior motives. The tribunal that convicted the Ogoni nine was not a legitimate court of law, rendering the charges against them null and void.”
The reactions from Akpobari and Lenu reflect the deep-seated feelings of injustice and betrayal that still linger in the Ogoni community decades after the execution of Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues.
While the pardon may be seen as a gesture of goodwill by some, many in the Ogoni community believe that it does not go far enough in addressing the historical injustices they suffered.
The Ogoni nine were executed in 1995 after being convicted by a military tribunal on charges of murder. The trial was widely criticized as a sham, and many believe that the Ogoni nine were targeted for their activism against the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta region.
