{"id":120200,"date":"2025-06-28T13:22:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T12:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=120200"},"modified":"2025-06-28T13:22:17","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T12:22:17","slug":"ogoni-leader-rejects-tinubus-pardon-for-saro-wiwa-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/ogoni-leader-rejects-tinubus-pardon-for-saro-wiwa-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Ogoni Leader Rejects Tinubu\u2019s Pardon for Saro-Wiwa, Others"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n
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The controversies\u00a0 generated by President Bola Tinubu’s decision to pardon Ken Saro-Wiwa and his co-activists has refused to abate, as former Senator and prominent Ogoni elder and\u00a0 statesman, Senator Bennett Birabi, has kicked against the development.<\/div>\n
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Birabi described the decision to grant state pardons and national honours to the late environmental activist and his colleagues as abnormal and misguided, insisting they are undeserving of such heroic recognition.<\/div>\n
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In a recent interaction with Newsmen in Port Harcourt, Birabi, who represented Rivers South-East in the National Assembly in the Third Republic said it was misleading to portray the nine men as heroes or martyrs. He claimed the group was complicit in the internal crisis that led to the brutal killing of four prominent Ogoni chiefs in 1994.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThese are\u00a0 not martyrs; they were killers,\u201d Birabi stated bluntly.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe narrative that they were environmental activists fighting for justice has overshadowed the fact that they were tried and convicted for murder. That part of history should not be forgotten.\u201d<\/div>\n
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He acknowledged that while Ken Saro-Wiwa may not have been physically present at the scene of the killings, his rhetoric and leadership within the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) allegedly contributed to the volatile environment that led to the violence and ultimate killing of the four Chiefs. Birabi said the words of the late literary icon incited the crowd that unleashed what he described as jungle justice.<\/div>\n
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Birabi also revealed that he had made efforts at the time to save Saro-Wiwa\u2019s life. \u201cI even took a delegation to the Emir of Kano to appeal to General Sani Abacha to spare him,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the matter was far more complex than what many Nigerians realized.\u201d<\/div>\n
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President Tinubu, during his Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2025, granted a presidential pardon and posthumous national honour to the Ogoni 9, stating that their sacrifices should be remembered and celebrated.<\/div>\n
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The announcement and “veneration” has since drawn mixed reactions across the country.<\/div>\n
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While many human rights activists and many Ogoni citizens praised the move as a step toward national healing and reconciliation, Birabi has\u00a0 expressed deep opposition, saying the president had been misled.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe real martyrs were the four elders who were murdered,\u201d he insisted. \u201cTheir families continue to live with that pain, and now we are honouring those convicted for their deaths? That\u2019s not justice.\u201d<\/div>\n
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He further warned against rewriting history for political convenience, urging Nigerians to embrace a more nuanced and honest understanding of the Ogoni struggle.<\/div>\n
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Birabi\u2019s remarks come at a time when there is renewed focus on Nigeria\u2019s human rights history, with growing demand for justice, truth, and accountability in national reconciliation efforts.<\/div>\n
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Family members of the slain Ogoni 4 have also expressed their displeasure with President Tinubu\u2019s decision, aligning themselves with Senator Birabi\u2019s position.<\/div>\n
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