The President of the Ogoni Central Indigenous Authority has publicly rejected the presidential award and pardon extended to the Ogoni Nine, including executed environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, demanding instead that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu exonerate the activists rather than pardon them.
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In an open letter dated June 12, 2025, Dr. Goodluck Diigbo argued that a pardon implies guilt while exoneration would acknowledge the activists’ innocence and the injustice of their 1995 executions under military rule.
The Ogoni Nine were environmental and civil rights activists executed on November 10, 1995, during the military government of General Sani Abacha. The group, led by renowned writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, had campaigned against environmental degradation in Ogoniland caused by oil extraction activities and advocated for indigenous rights.
Their executions drew widespread international condemnation, with world leaders describing the trial as fraudulent and the executions as judicial murder.
In his letter to President Tinubu, Diigbo revealed his deep personal connection to the Ogoni struggle, stating he “could have been one of them.” The activist leader disclosed surviving eleven assassination attempts and living in exile while continuing to advocate for Ogoni rights.
Diigbo quoted extensively from Saro-Wiwa’s prison writings, including the executed leader’s assessment of his organising abilities and knowledge of the Ogoni people. He described carrying forward Saro-Wiwa’s legacy as both a responsibility and a burden.
The Ogoni leader referenced international condemnation of the executions, noting that hundreds of United Nations ambassadors and British Prime Minister John Major had called the trial fraudulent and the executions “judicial murder.”
“The world recognised this injustice,” Diigbo wrote, arguing that Nigeria should accept what the international community had already acknowledged about the wrongful nature of the convictions.
While rejecting the current award format, Diigbo expressed willingness to work with the Tinubu administration toward genuine reconciliation. He outlined conditions for meaningful dialogue, including environmental restoration, indigenous autonomy, and economic justice for the Ogoni people.
“I strongly believe that you seek closure, that you wish to turn the page on this painful chapter in Nigeria’s history,” Diigbo wrote to President Tinubu. “But reconciliation cannot be built on symbolism alone—it must be rooted in truth, integrity, and historical correction.”
The letter highlighted the crucial difference between pardoning and exonerating the Ogoni Nine. According to Diigbo, exoneration would send a powerful message that Nigeria seeks to heal historical wounds with honesty rather than merely moving forward through symbolic gestures.
“The world does not honour those who are forgiven—it honours those who are vindicated,” he stated. “The Ogoni Nine were not criminals; they were martyrs for justice.”
The letter concluded with Diigbo expressing openness to dialogue while awaiting President Tinubu’s response. The Ogoni leader framed the issue as a test of how history will judge the current administration’s commitment to justice and truth.
The presidency has not yet responded to Diigbo’s letter or indicated whether it will consider changing the nature of the recognition from pardon to exoneration.
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