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Owens Wiwa Urges Exoneration of 9 Ogonis During Exclusive Meeting with President Tinubu
Ghazali Ibrahim
Dr. Owens Wiwa, the younger brother of the late author and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, has made appeal to the Nigerian government to exonerate his brother and eight other Ogoni activists who were executed in 1995 under the regime of military dictator General Sani Abacha.
Dr. Wiwa made this appeal during a high-level meeting held on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, attended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and prominent Ogoni leaders, including Senators Lee Maeba and Magnus Abe, as well as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, and National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu with a view to discuss the oil exploration of the community.
According to reports, sources close to the meeting revealed that Dr. Wiwa emphasized the need for the Nigerian government to clear the names of the Ogoni 9—Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine—executed on November 10, 1995, after what has been widely regarded as an unfair trial by the special military tribunal.
“The exoneration of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight other Ogoni activists judicially murdered in 1995 is a crucial step towards justice and peace,” Dr. Wiwa reportedly stated.
The late Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright and environmental activist, alongside his fellow activists, was accused of masterminding the murder of Ogoni chiefs during a pro-government meeting.
Their trial by a special military tribunal drew international condemnation for its lack of due process. Saro-Wiwa and the group became known as the “Ogoni 9,” symbolizing resistance to environmental destruction caused by oil exploration in the Niger Delta.
In recent years, the Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation and other advocacy groups have maintained their call for exoneration rather than a pardon, insisting that the activists were innocent. “Ken Saro-Wiwa and the others were not criminals. They were unjustly murdered for fighting for the rights of their community,” said Dr. Wiwa in a previous statement on behalf of the Foundation.
The meeting comes as the Nigerian government seeks to engage Ogoni leaders on the resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland, a region devastated by decades of pollution from oil operations.
President Tinubu’s administration has initiated discussions on environmental restoration and sustainable development as part of broader reconciliation efforts.
Leaders attending the meeting were hosted at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, with the government facilitating travel arrangements from Port Harcourt.
