By Tina Chinyere – Portharcourt
A coalition of civil society and environmental justice organisations has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent presidential pardon, describing the inclusion of late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight executed Ogoni colleagues as insensitive and a distortion of history.
In a joint statement released on Thursday, the organisations including Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), We the People, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Environmental Rights Action, and Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre, among others expressed outrage over the details of the clemency list announced by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
According to the State House release titled “Details of the Presidential Pardon and Clemency,” the President extended mercy to 175 persons, including illegal miners, white-collar convicts, drug offenders, foreigners, coup plotters, and armed robbers. The list also mentioned capital offenders such as Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the Ogoni Eight.
The coalition condemned the inclusion of Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues alongside convicted criminals, describing it as deeply offensive and an attempt to portray the Ogoni 9 as murderers rather than victims of state repression.
“The statement by the Presidential Adviser is laced with insinuations and references that have no bearing on history, reality, or globally accepted facts,” the groups said.
They recalled that the executions of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, and Barinem Kiobel in November 1995 followed what they termed a mockery of justice conducted by a military tribunal under the regime of late Gen. Sani Abacha.
The coalition noted that the Ogoni struggle, championed by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), sought environmental justice, fair compensation for oil exploitation, and cleanup of pollution caused by Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta. Instead of dialogue, the statement said, the Nigerian government responded with violent repression that led to the deaths and displacement of thousands.
“What the world has consistently demanded is not a pardon but a complete exoneration of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his comrades. It is unacceptable that despite overwhelming evidence of a miscarriage of justice, the Nigerian state still considers them guilty and deserving of a pardon,” the coalition stated.
The groups also questioned why President Tinubu’s statement acknowledged the unjust colonial treatment of nationalist Sir Herbert Macaulay, yet failed to make a similar admission regarding the Ogoni 9.
They urged the President to withdraw the pardon and instead issue an unequivocal apology and a gazetted pronouncement quashing their convictions.
The statement further warned that the move could signal plans to resume oil exploration in Ogoniland, an action that has long been resisted by local communities and environmental advocates.
Reaffirming their stance, the coalition described Ken Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues as exemplary leaders who peacefully defended their environment and whose legacy must be honoured, not tainted by association with criminal convicts.
