President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday conferred posthumous national honours on environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the Ogoni Nine.
This is coming nearly 30 years after their execution under the military regime of General Sani Abacha.
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Tinubu, who spoke during a joint sitting of the National Assembly to mark Democracy Day 2025, also announced a presidential pardon for the group.
“I confer posthumous national honours on Ken Saro Wiwa (CON), the leader of the Ogoni Nine and his fellow travellers, Saturday Dobee (OON), Nordu Eawo (OON), Daniel Gbooko (OON), Paul Levera (OON), Felix Nuate (OON), Baribor Bera (OON), Barinem Kiobel (OON), and John Kpuine (OON).
“I shall also be exercising my powers under the prerogative of mercy to grant these national heroes a full pardon, together with others whose names shall be announced later in conjunction with the National Council of State,” the President said.
The Ogoni Nine were executed on November 10, 1995, after being convicted by a special military tribunal over the killing of four pro-government Ogoni chiefs. The Ogoni chiefs were killed during an intra-communal riot in Ogoniland in 1994
These charges were widely condemned as politically motivated.
Their execution sparked global outrage and led to sanctions against Nigeria from the Commonwealth, the United States, Canada, and several other Western nations.
Saro-Wiwa, a writer and activist, had founded the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People in 1990, to protest the environmental degradation of Ogoniland and the marginalisation of its people by oil companies and the Nigerian state.