Nigeria: Ogoni Nine pardon ‘falls far short’ of real justice

 

Responding to the announcement on Wednesday that the Nigerian government has pardoned the Ogoni Nine, Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria’s Director, said: 

“This is welcome news but it falls far short of the justice the Ogoni Nine need and deserve – the Nigerian government must recognise formally that they are innocent of any crime and fully exonerate them. 

“The Ogoni Nine, led by Ken Saro-Wiwa Nigeria’s leading author and campaigner, were brutally executed by a regime that wanted to hide the crimes of Shell and other oil companies that were destroying – and continue to destroy – the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across the Niger Delta as a result of their devastating oil spills and leaks.  

“The execution of these activists nearly 30 years ago has given the Nigerian government and oil companies, including Shell, licence to crackdown on protests and intimidate people in the Niger Delta who have been demanding justice and an end to their toxic pollution. 

“Full justice for the Ogoni Nine is only a first step – much more needs to be done to get justice for communities in the Niger Delta, including holding Shell and other oil companies to account for the damage they have done and continue to do. They must pay the Niger Delta’s communities full compensation for the devastation their oil spills and leaks have caused and clean up their toxic mess before they leave the region.” 

Background 

The Ogoni Nine 

Ken Saro-Wiwa, environmental activist and writer, Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Felix Nuate, Paul Levula, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo and Daniel Gbokoo, were executed after a blatantly unfair trial on 10 November 1995. Officially accused of involvement in murder, the men had in fact been put on trial because they had challenged the devastating impact of oil production by Shell, in the Ogoniland region of the Niger Delta. 

Shell have been accused of complicity in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of nine men. 

Niger Delta devastation 

For 60 years Shell and other oil companies have been responsible for oil spills and leaks due to poorly maintained pipelines, wells and inadequate clean-up attempts that have ravaged the health and livelihoods of many of the 30 million people living in the Niger Delta – most of whom live in poverty. People can’t fish anymore because their water sources, including their wells for drinking water, are poisoned and the land is contaminated which has killed plant life, meaning communities can no longer farm. 

The Ogale and Bille communities as well as the Bodo community are taking Shell to the UK’s Royal Courts of Justice demanding the oil giant cleans up the oil spills that have wrecked their livelihoods, health and caused widespread devastation to the local environment.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.