…What Kenneth Kobani, Dum Dekor, Legborsi Pyagbara, Donu Kogbara, Celestine Akpobari, Mrs Esther Barinem – Kiobel, Goodluck Diigbo, Suage Badey, Anthony Waadah, Others Say
Mixed reactions have trailed the conferment of national honor on Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists who were executed by the General Sani Abacha-led military dictatorship in 1995. While some Ogonis have welcomed the honor as a long-overdue recognition of their forebears’ sacrifices, others have rejected the pardon and honor, citing the government’s failure to mention the Ogoni Four, who were also killed during the same period.
The development has sharply divided the Ogoni community, with some arguing that the honor is a step in the right direction towards healing and reconciliation.
Mr. Legborsi Pyagbara, former President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), in his reaction welcome the pardon granted to the Ogoni Nine by President Bola Tinubu, , Pyagbara commended the government for granting the pardon, which he described as a “salutary first step in the process of the decriminalisation of the Ogoni Nine and by implication the entire Ogoni struggle.” He also noted that the conferment of national honours on the Ogoni Nine was a fitting testimonial to their contributions to the country’s democratic journey. “It is an incontrovertible fact that it was the events in Ogoniland particularly the hanging of the Ogoni Nine that galvanised the international community to take drastic actions against the Nigeria government,” Pyagbara said.
However, Pyagbara also called on the government to take further steps to promote national healing and reconciliation. “In order to cement the process of reconciliation and national healing that has been initiated by this honour, we call on the Tinubu administration to further demonstrate statesmanship by offering a National Apology to the Ogoni people for the state sponsored violence that led to the monstrosity of the human carnage that the Nigeria Military under its scorched-earth policy inflicted on the Ogoni community,” he said.
Pyagbara also requested that the government initiate a process for the judicial review of the Justice Auta judgement and extend the honour to the Ogoni Four and other notable sons and daughters of Ogoniland who contributed to the struggle for social justice. “We request that the government initiate a process for the judicial review of the Justice Auta judgement including other Abacha era prosecutions which led to the incarceration and death of several others,” he said. “This will help to establish and determine the true facts about these cases and the matters brought to finality paving way for permanent healing and reconciliation.”
Veteran journalist and columnist, Donu Kogbara, expressed outrage over President Bola Tinubu’s decision to confer posthumous national honours on the Ogoni Nine, including renowned environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. In a recent column, Kogbara described the move as a “grave injustice” and questioned the president’s motivation behind the pardon.
According to Kogbara, the Ogoni Nine were directly responsible for the brutal assassination of four distinguished Ogoni chiefs, including his own uncles, Edward Kobani, Albert Badey, Theophilous Orage, and Sam Orage. “As far as I am concerned, the Ogoni Nine should never be forgiven for this heinous crime, never mind described as heroes,” Kogbara wrote.
Kogbara expressed shock and disappointment that the president would choose to honour the Ogoni Nine while ignoring their victims, whose bodies were never recovered. “Only God knows who advised Mr. President to bestow national honours on them…AND to totally ignore their victims,” he said.
The columnist suspects that the government’s decision may be motivated by a desire to placate violent elements in Ogoniland and facilitate the resumption of oil activities in the region. “There is, after all, plenty of money to be made (by individuals as well as by companies and the authorities) from the reactivation of our substantial but long-dormant hydrocarbon resources,” Kogbara noted.
Kogbara also questioned the president’s decision to take sides in the long-standing controversy surrounding the Ogoni Nine without providing any evidence to support his position. “So why did Tinubu take sides without providing any evidence to support his humiliating rubbishing of the Ogoni Four faction’s position?” he asked.
The columnist believes that the president’s decision has inflicted a grave injustice on the loved ones of the Badey, Orage, and Kobani families and hopes that it will one day be rectified. In a personal aside, Kogbara mentioned that his late father, Ignatius Suage Kogbara, also received a national award, and wondered if he had the right to protest on his behalf and return the award in disgust.
Environmental activist Celestine Akpobari strongly rejected the presidential pardon granted to Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others by President Bola Tinubu, arguing that what is needed is full exoneration, not clemency. “Accepting a pardon implies guilt, which dishonours the legacy of the late environmentalist and his fellow campaigners,” Akpobari said in a statement. He emphasized that Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues were wrongfully executed and committed no crime deserving of a pardon, describing the gesture as inadequate and misdirected. Akpobari believes that the pardon is a half-measure that fails to acknowledge the gross human rights abuses and judicial injustices that led to the execution of the Ogoni Nine.
The Saro-Wiwa family’s reaction to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential pardon and conferment of national honours on Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others has been met with a sense of vindication and hope. Noo Saro-Wiwa, Ken Saro-Wiwa’s daughter, expressed appreciation for the recognition of her father’s and the other activists’ contributions to the struggle for environmental justice, political and human rights in the Niger Delta region. The family believes that the conferment of national honours symbolizes the innocence of these heroes and reinforces the global view that the judgement given almost 30 years ago was flawed and their execution considered to be judicial murder.
The family’s statement highlights the ongoing quest for justice and accountability in the case of the Ogoni Nine. While thanking President Tinubu for doing the right thing, they further request a review of the judicial proceedings leading to the erroneous judgement, which occasioned such a colossal loss to their family, the Ogoni people, and concerned Nigerians. This review, they believe, will heal all wounds and ensure that further miscarriages of justice are not continuously visited on persons protesting their fundamental rights as guaranteed in the Constitution. The Saro-Wiwa family’s hope is that the review will lead to a complete exoneration of their heroes, providing closure and vindication for their father’s legacy.
Esther Barinem-Kiobel, the widow of Dr. Barinem Kiobel, one of the Ogoni Nine, has welcomed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to confer a posthumous National Honour on her late husband. However, she has also called on the President to go further and exonerate her husband and his compatriots by setting aside the judgement of the Military Tribunal that convicted them. “PARDON is not granted to the INNOCENT,” she emphasized, pointing out that the Ogoni Nine were innocent men who stood for the right course but were brutally executed due to the greed of a select few. Mrs. Barinem-Kiobel’s statement highlights her deep understanding of the legal and moral implications of the pardon and her determination to see justice served.
Mrs. Barinem-Kiobel’s call for exoneration is rooted in the fact that the Military Tribunal that convicted the Ogoni Nine was unconstitutional and lacked the legitimacy to pass judgement. She believes that the Tribunal’s proceedings were flawed and that the judgement was a product of a kangaroo court. By seeking exoneration, Mrs. Barinem-Kiobel aims to clear her husband’s name and restore his legacy, while also ensuring that the Ogoni people can finally find closure and healing. Her appeal to the President underscores the importance of acknowledging and rectifying past injustices, and her determination to see justice served is a testament to her unwavering commitment to her husband’s memory.
Dr. Goodluck Diigbo, President of the Ogoni Central Indigenous Authority (OCIA) and former president of the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP), has reacted strongly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s pardon granted to the Ogoni Nine, including Ken Saro-Wiwa. In an open letter dated June 12, 2025, Diigbo rejected the pardon, arguing that it implies guilt, whereas the Ogoni Nine were innocent and executed for speaking truth to power.
Diigbo emphasized that a pardon is not justice, but rather an acknowledgment of wrongdoing followed by forgiveness. In this case, he believes exoneration is the only acceptable path forward, as it would formally clear the names of the Ogoni Nine and acknowledge the state’s role in their wrongful execution. He cited international condemnation of the trial, including statements from United Nations ambassadors and British Prime Minister John Major, who described the trial as “fraudulent” and the executions as “judicial murder”.
The OCIA president highlighted Ken Saro-Wiwa’s legacy, quoting his prison writings, “The writer cannot be a mere storyteller; he cannot be a mere teacher; he cannot merely X-ray society’s weaknesses, its ills, its perils. He or she must be actively involved in shaping its present and its future.” Diigbo urged President Tinubu to review the pardon and consider an exoneration of the Ogoni Nine, which would not only correct a historical wrong but also reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to justice, truth, and reconciliation.
Suage Badey, son of Albert Badey, one of the Ogoni Four, expressed deep disappointment with the Presidency and the Federal Government’s decision to pardon the Ogoni Nine without mentioning the Ogoni Four. “I quite disappointed with the Presidency and the position of the federal government, because as at yesterday I started mourning my father again and the same goes to the rest of the three families of the Ogoni four, because this was the second time my father is being murdered, it’s very painful thing and we have lived with it for thirty one years.”
Badey emphasized that the Federal Government’s decision to honor the Ogoni Nine without mentioning the Ogoni Four is a complete disregard and disrespect to their memories. “I don’t see why the federal government will be silent on the name of the four, even if they have intentions to give them an award and national honour… they never ever mentioned names of the four, this is a complete disregard and disrespect to the memories of our fathers who actually served the nation diligently without blemish over the years.”
Badey expressed his sadness and frustration, questioning why the government would ignore the Ogoni Four’s sacrifices and memories. “They were killed, murdered in cold blood and in broad daylight by the same men that have been honoured today, yesterday and they didn’t mentioned names of the Ogoni four, it is a very sad development.”
While Badey didn’t have an issue with the pardon itself, he found it aberrant that the government would honor a murderer without acknowledging the victims. “However for me I don’t have anything wrong with pardon, but what I feel it’s wrong here which is an aberration is how do you honour a murderer that you have just pardoned and you say nothing about the four, our fathers that were butched to death in cold blood because they didn’t disappear.”
Chief Anthony Waadah Gbenemene, President of the Association of Ogoni Business Owners in the United States of America, expressed profound disappointment and dismay at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to grant pardon to Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8. In a press statement, Waadah described the decision as a “gross injustice” and a “travesty of the struggles and sacrifices of the Ogoni people”. He emphasized that “granting pardon to Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8 is a farce, a mockery of the justice system, and a whitewash of the brutal murder of innocent men who were fighting for the rights of their people.”
Waadah stressed that Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8 were not terrorists, but champions of human rights who fought for a just cause. “Ken Saro-Wiwa and his fellow activists were not terrorists, but champions of human rights, and their struggle was a just cause,” he said. He noted that “the trial was a sham, and the outcome was predetermined,” with the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha acting as the accuser, defender, and judge. Waadah emphasized that “the Ogoni people deserve justice, not pardon,” and that exonerating Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8 would be a step in the right direction.
Waadah concluded by calling for a review of the kangaroo judgement that convicted Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni leaders, describing their execution as an unjust act without fair hearing. “Granting pardon to Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8 is like killing them for the second time,” he lamented. “It is a blackmail to their memories, and it is a betrayal of the trust and confidence of the Ogoni people.” Waadah emphasized that “the Ogoni people have suffered enough,” and that it is time for the government to take concrete steps to address the historical injustices meted out to them.
According to Chief Hon. Kenneth Kobani, son of Late Edward Kobani, “When the murderers of the 4 Ogoni Chiefs are pardoned and given the Greek gift of national awards, it is not about peace but about resumption of oil exploration activities in Ogoni land. Where then is justice for the 4 Ogoni Leaders who were murdered in daylight by NYCOP VIGILANTE members under the leadership of Kenule B. Saro-Wiwa on May 21st 1994?
The same Ken Saro Wiwa who insisted that the Ogoni’s will not vote in the June 12th elections is now being heralded as a beacon of democracy but those who insisted that the Ogonis must vote in order to have a say in the affairs of the nation and were hacked to death for this are vilified.
This ill advised catastrophe by the President will go down in history as the decision that restarted the events that culminated in the gruesome murder of Chief Edward Nna Kobani, Mr Albert T . Badey, Chief Samuel Orage and Chief Theophilus Orage.
There can be no peace without justice!”
