Human rights advocate and senior lawyer, Femi Falana has publicly declared that Ken Saro-Wiwa, the notable environmental activist, along with eight other Ogoni leaders, were innocent of the crimes for which they were accused and ultimately executed by the military regime of General Sani Abacha in 1995. Falana, delivering the keynote address at the 30th memorial lecture for Ken Saro-Wiwa in Port Harcourt, he emphasized that the charges were fabricated as part of a deliberate state strategy to quell the environmental and human rights activism led by Saro-Wiwa’s Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP).
In his address, he explained that under Abacha administration, he orchestrated the murder of four Ogoni chiefs through operatives linked to the government and wrongfully pinned the blame on Saro-Wiwa and his associates to justify their elimination. He further explained that the state sought to suppress the struggle against Shell’s environmental damage in Ogoni land by silencing MOSOP’s leadership.
Despite efforts by the defense to present critical evidence, including audio recordings proving the innocence of the accused, the military tribunal disregarded these proofs and proceeded with a rushed and unjust trial that culminated in the execution of nine activists.
Falana condemned the manner in which the tribunal rejected key evidence, describing it as part of a broader conspiracy to convict the Ogoni leaders. He urged the Ogoni people to remain united in continuing the fight for justice and recognition of their martyrdom.
The event also featured testimonies from activists underscoring the political motivations behind the killings and ongoing marginalization of the Ogoni community. Falana’s remarks reaffirm the long-standing view that the executions were a profound miscarriage of justice driven by political and economic interests to protect oil exploitation at the expense of human rights and environmental integrity.
The call is for official exoneration and an apology to the Ogoni people for this grave injustice.
