ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) – After his death, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu pardoned nine environmentalists executed by the then-held military government 30 years ago, receiving intense criticism and anger from activists who argued on Friday that individuals did not commit crimes.
At an event on Thursday commemorating the 26th anniversary of Nigeria’s return to democracy, Tinubu pardoned “Ogoni Nine” including famous writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and described it as a “national hero.”
The men were convicted of murdering four local chiefs and were hanged in 1995 by a military regime then led by General Sani Abacha. They are part of the Ogoni race in the oil-rich Niger Delta region and protested multinational oil companies, especially Shell, in the region, protested against environmental pollution in the region.
Their trial and murder at the time caused international outrage, which rights groups called injustice and lacked reliable evidence.
Local rights and civil society groups describe Tinob’s pardon as misleading and “insult”.
“The pardon is for those convicted of wrongdoing,” said Ken Henshaw, executive director of the local rights group.
Henshaw said the process that led to the execution did not prove that they had committed allegations against them. “For him, it was a wrong name to say that he wanted to pardon them.”
The Nigerian government must also formally recognize that the murdered activists “have committed innocent people who have committed any crimes and have completely exaggerated them,” said Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International, Nigeria.
“Ogoni Nine’s total justice is just the first step,” Sanusi said. “In order to provide justice to communities in the Niger Delta, more needs to be done, including holding Shell and other oil companies to consider the damage they have caused and continue to cause.”
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Following the AP’s African Report:
