• Urges commitment of states to fossil-fuel phase-out
• MOSOP calls for reconciliation, unity of purpose in Ogoni  

Thirty years after the brutal execution of nine leading environmental activists called the ‘Ogoni Nine’, for fighting to protect the Niger Delta from oil giant exploration activities, Amnesty International (AI), yesterday, called for their full exoneration.

The 30th anniversary of the Ogoni nine coincided with the start of the United Nations (UN) climate summit (COP 30) in the Amazonian city of Belém, Brazil, yesterday.
  
The Ogoni Nine, led by environmental activist and writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa, included Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Felix Nuate, Paul Levula, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo and Daniel Gbokoo, were executed on November 10, 1995.

The Ogoni Nine’s protests in 1995 brought global attention to the devastating cost of the fossil fuel industry on the climate, people’s lives, the environment, and continued poverty in oil-producing areas.

In June 2025, the Nigerian government pardoned the Ogoni Nine. While AI welcomed the news, the group said it fell short of the justice the Ogoni Nine and their families deserved.
  
AI’s Nigeria Country Director, Isa Sanusi, said: “The Ogoni Nine, led by Nigeria’s leading author and campaigner, Ken Saro-Wiwa, were brutally executed in 1995 by a regime that wanted to hide the crimes of Shell and other oil companies. These companies were destroying – and continue to destroy the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across the Niger Delta as a result of their devastating oil spills and leaks.
   
“While their pardon was a step forward, the Ogoni Nine deserve full exoneration. These men were executed for a crime they did not commit. Their friends and family have been through enough, and they deserve justice.”
 
WITH the start of COP 30, in Brazil, AI said the world’s attention is set to turn to the devastating effects of fossil fuels, calling for states to commit to a full, fast, fair and funded fossil-fuel phase-out and just transition to sustainable energy for all.

MEANWHILE, MOSOP has called for tranquillity and the resolution of internal issues among the Ogoni people, saying it’s time to make peace and work together for the good of Ogoniland, the Niger Delta region, and the country in general.
 
In a statement to mark the November 10, 1995, memorial of the inhuman and ruthless execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, eight Ogoni rights campaigners, MOSOP President, Fegalo Nsuke, stated: “We have had a prolonged conflict which has not only divided us but has also been exploited by external forces to frustrate our development goals.”
 
Nsuke urged all indigents to make peace, compromises, and reconciliation within themselves to ease the tensions and chart a transparent course for the good of Ogoniland.