By Dormene Mbea
Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoniland, was on Monday, November 10, transformed into a sea of placards and chants as thousands of Ogoni people staged a massive protest to mark the 30th anniversary of the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro Wiwa and eight others, the Ogoni Nine.
The peaceful protest, led by Comrade Friday Barilule Nbani, Chief Executive Officer of the Lekeh Development Foundation, drew men, women, and youths from across Ogoni communities who converged to demand justice, environmental remediation, and the total exoneration of the Ogoni Nine.
The protesters carried banners with inscriptions such as “Justice for Niger Delta,” “Shell Must Fall,” “No to Oil Resumption in Ogoni,” “Ogoni Rejects Pardon, Demands Total Exoneration,” and “Shell Killed Him But Cannot Kill the Ideas.”
The march, which began in the early hours of Monday, was both a memorial and a declaration that the struggle for environmental and social justice in Ogoniland remains alive.
Speaking during the protest, Comrade Nbani said the demonstration was a symbolic act of resistance and remembrance.
“Thirty years after their execution, justice has not been served,” he said. “Our rivers remain polluted, our farmlands are barren, and our people continue to suffer while the oil companies and government agencies play politics with our lives.
Ken Saro Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine were not criminals; they were heroes who fought for justice and truth. They deserve total exoneration, not pardon.”
He condemned what he described as a persistent betrayal of the Ogoni struggle by successive governments and international oil companies, particularly Shell, whose operations, he said, have left Ogoniland in ruins.
Comrade Emmanuel Barinuazor, President of the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP), also addressed the gathering, urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take a historic step by exonerating the Ogoni Nine and ensuring full implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland.
“Their only offence was demanding fairness and environmental justice,” he said. “The idea of pardoning them is an insult to their memory.
You do not pardon innocent men; you vindicate them. President Tinubu must show courage by granting total exoneration and ensuring a transparent, community-driven cleanup process.”
The protest attracted civil society organizations, human rights groups, traditional leaders, and environmental activists who reiterated their opposition to renewed oil exploration in Ogoniland.
They argued that resuming oil production without first addressing decades of pollution would be catastrophic.
Mrs. Lezua Neenanee, a farmer and member of the Federation of Ogoni Women Association (FOWA), expressed anger over the continued degradation of farmlands and water sources.
“Our land has been destroyed, our water poisoned, and our crops no longer grow,” she lamented. “They want to resume oil production when they have not cleaned the old spills. This is unacceptable. We say no to further destruction of our land.”
Another protester, Mr. Ledum Suanu, a member of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), appealed to the federal government to suspend all oil resumption plans until the demands of the Ogoni Bill of Rights are implemented.
“Ogonis will not be silent,” he declared. “Before any talk of oil resumption, the federal government must address our political, environmental, and economic demands. President Tinubu should consider creating an Ogoni State as part of true justice for our people.”
Human rights advocates who joined the protest urged the federal government to investigate Shell’s role in the 1995 executions and to hold multinational companies accountable for decades of environmental crimes in the Niger Delta.
They also called for protection of environmental and human rights defenders who continue to face intimidation.
For many in attendance, the protest was not just a remembrance but a reaffirmation of resistance, proof that the Ogoni spirit remains unbroken.
As the demonstrators dispersed peacefully, chants of “Shell Must Fall” and “Justice for Ogoni Nine” echoed through the streets of Bori, serving as a reminder that while the men were hanged thirty years ago, their ideas live on. The Ogoni people’s message was clear: until justice is served, until the environment is restored, and until the names of their heroes are cleared, the struggle will never end.
