…Killings Occur In Broad Daylight, Perpetrators Known – Hon Kenneth Kobani
…“Why We Chose Forgiveness Over Anger”
Thirty-one years after the brutal killing of four Ogoni leaders in Giokoo community, Gokana Local Government Area, their families and some Ogoni stakeholders have renewed calls for the recovery and release of the victims’ remains for proper burial and lasting reconciliation.
The four slain chiefs, Chief Edward Kobani, Mr. Albert Badey, Chief Theophilus Orage, and Chief Samuel Orage, were murdered on May 21, 1994, amid internal divisions within the Ogoni struggle and disputes involving multinational oil giant Shell.
Their deaths set in motion the arrest, trial, and eventual execution of playwright and environmental rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight associates, known collectively as the Ogoni Nine, on November 10, 1995, under the regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
Speaking at a press conference in Bodo, Gokana LGA, on Monday, to mark the 31st anniversary of the killings, Kenneth Kobani, son of the late Chief Kobani and former Minister of State for Trade and Industry, described the continued denial of the circumstances surrounding their deaths as “an insult taken too far.”
“It’s been 31 years since my father and three others were brutally murdered at Giokoo by Gokana people. We had every reason to seek revenge, but we chose forgiveness over anger because our real strength lies in how we rise above what happened,” Kobani said.
He decried attempts by some individuals and groups to distort historical facts about the tragedy, stressing that the killings occurred in broad daylight and the perpetrators were known.
Kobani criticized recent efforts to lay wreaths on empty tombs of the slain leaders, calling it a “mockery of their memory.”
“You want to lay wreaths where there are no remains? That’s an insult too far. We buried empty caskets. Our fathers were murdered and their remains never returned. How would anyone feel burying an empty coffin?” he asked.
The Secretary of the Gokana Unity Forum, Dr. Chris Barigbon, echoed calls for the immediate release of the Ogoni Four’s remains and a public apology from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
“This is over three decades after the gruesome murder of Chief E.N. Kobani, A.T. Badey, T.B. Orage, and S.N. Orage. We call on MOSOP to recover and release their remains for dignified burial,” the forum stated. “Such grave disregard even in death amounts to the second and third murder of the martyrs.”
While praising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for granting posthumous national honours to the Ogoni Four and for ongoing peace efforts in Ogoniland, the forum criticized MOSOP for what it described as “deviance, lack of empathy, and continuous denial of the families’ cries.”
The Paramount Ruler of Bodo City, HRH King John Berebon, also stressed that true reconciliation could only begin with the safe return of the slain leaders’ remains.
“Healing the wounds of the past necessitates the safe return of their remains for proper burial. This will pave the way for reintegration and true reconciliation in the spirit of peace, forgiveness, and love,” he said, emphasizing that Ogoni stakeholders must bury their bitterness and allow unity to prevail.
The killings of the Ogoni Four, and the subsequent executions of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine, remain some of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s history, sparking global outrage and condemnation at the time. Families and leaders argue that until the remains are returned and justice is fully recognized, the wounds of the past will remain open. “Little did we know 30 years ago that we were destroying our destiny and dimming our future. Let us regain our place in the comity of nations. Peace, not turmoil; forgiveness, not bitterness — that is the legacy we must now build,” Chief Polycarp Kornom, Chairman of the Bodo Council of Chiefs and Elders, said.
