Global human rights advocacy group, Amnesty International has said there is no justice yet in Ogoniland and the rest of the oil-rich Niger Delta since the execution of human rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others 26 years ago by the military government of Gen. Sani Abacha.
Known as Ogoni Nine, the activists were executed by the then military government of the late Abacha.
Saro-Wiwa and the others fought the government and oil companies over environmental degradation in their region.
They were tried and hanged after a special military tribunal found them guilty for allegedly killing some Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting.
A statement by Isa Sanusi, Media Manager, Amnesty International Nigeria on Wednesday, remembered the Ogoni Nine 26 years after their execution.
It said it was to “mark 26 years since the murder of writer and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, Dr Barinem Kiobel and seven other men, collectively known as the Ogoni Nine by the then military government of the late General Sani Abacha”.
The statement quoted Osai Ojigho, Director, Amnesty International Nigeria as saying, “Twenty-six years after the murder of Ogoni Nine the oil producing communities of Ogoniland and other parts of the Niger-Delta region are yet to get justice for years of hundreds of oil spills that have devastated people’s livelihoods, health, and access to clean water and food. This continues to demonstrate the failure of successive Nigerian authorities to respect and uphold national and international human rights obligations.
“Years after clean up began in areas polluted by oil companies, as recommended by the United Nations Environment Porgramme (UNEP), the response has been slow and insufficient, as vast areas remain heavily contaminated and dangerous to the livelihood of the people of the region.”
“Nigerian authorities must use this moment to take actions that will ensure justice for the people of the Niger Delta and for the Ogoni Nine. The Ogoni Nine and their families deserve justice now, as they were executed following a trial that was blatantly unfair.”
“The people of the Niger Delta region must be protected from appalling level of pollution and other environmental injustice. Authorities must establish safeguards to ensure that oil companies act responsibly and can be held to account.”
“Nigerian authorities must also effectively implement the 2012 judgment by the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which unanimously found the Nigerian government responsible for abuses by oil companies and made it clear that the government must hold the companies and other perpetrators to account.”
“The time has come for the Nigerian government to stand up to powerful oil companies that have abused the human rights of the people of the Niger Delta with impunity for decades.”