Politics
Exoneration, not pardon of Saro-Wiwa, others will heal wounds of Ogoni people —Foundation
The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation, on Monday, insisted that only exoneration and not pardon of the late playwright, Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogonis will heal the wound in the hearts of Ogoni people.
Younger brother to the late playwright, Dr Owens Wiwa, said this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on behalf of the foundation’s board of directors on Monday.
According to him, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his Ogoni compatriots executed on November 10, 1995, by the military junta of the late former head of state, Sani Abacha, were not criminals.
He also contended that they were activists, who were killed after ‘a sham trial’ for fighting for a just cause on behalf of their oppressed community, adding that the path to true peace in the region begins with justice.
Read also: Shell finally bows to court order, agrees to pay Ogoni people N45.9bn compensation
The foundation was reacting to a recent statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, who revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari was willing to grant pardons to Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other Ogoni eight.
The statement reads in part: “Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other eight Ogonis were not criminals. They were innocent activists unjustly murdered for fighting for a just cause on behalf of their oppressed community.”
The foundation however stated that further that the cleaning up of the environment for which the activists died for was a first good step.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...