President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted a posthumous presidential pardon to environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the Ogoni Nine, in a historic gesture aimed at promoting national reconciliation and healing.
In a deeply symbolic move announced during his Democracy Day address before a joint session of the National Assembly, Tinubu also conferred national honours on all nine executed men, marking a significant shift in Nigeria’s approach to long-standing demands for justice from the Niger Delta.
“I shall be exercising my powers under the prerogative of mercy to grant these national heroes a full pardon,” the President stated.“This decision acknowledges the injustices of the past and seeks to reconcile with history.”
The Ogoni Nine — including Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, and others — were executed in 1995 by the military regime of General Sani Abacha, sparking international condemnation. Their controversial trial and deaths became symbols of environmental and human rights abuses in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta.
Civil society groups and leaders across the country hailed the move as a long-overdue act of restorative justice
