Amnesty International has criticised the recent pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu to the late environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight co-campaigners, who were convicted and executed by the Gen. Sani Abacha’s military regime.

Saro-Wiwa, who was the leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, was executed alongside eight other activists on November 10, 1995.

The activists, known as the Ogoni Nine, had Saro-Wiwa, Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Felix Nuate, Paul Levula, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, and Daniel Gbokoo.

But Tinubu, during the June 12 Democracy Day on Thursday, pardoned the activists.

However, the international rights organisation stated that the pardon fell far short of the justice they deserve.

In a statement on Friday, Nigeria’s Director of the Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, said while the government’s move was a step in the right direction, it did not go far enough in delivering justice.

“This is welcome news, but it falls far short of the justice the Ogoni Nine need and deserve – the Nigerian government must recognise formally that they are innocent of any crime and fully exonerate them,” Sanusi said. 

He accused the Nigerian government of using the executions to silence protests against oil pollution in the Niger Delta and shield multinational oil firms from accountability.

“The Ogoni Nine, led by Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria’s leading author and campaigner, were brutally executed by a regime that wanted to hide the crimes of Shell and other oil companies that were destroying and continue to destroy the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across the Niger Delta,” he added.

Sanusi also stressed that justice for the Ogoni Nine was only a starting point, urging the government to take further steps to address decades of environmental degradation in the region.

“Full justice for the Ogoni Nine is only a first step. Much more needs to be done to get justice for communities in the Niger Delta, including holding Shell and other oil companies to account for the damage they have done and continue to do,” he said.

He, however, called on oil firms to pay full compensation and clean up the environmental mess caused by decades of oil spills and gas flaring in the region.