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By Lukman Olabiyi
Civil society organisations (CSOs) have renewed calls for justice, environmental restoration, and corporate accountability in the Niger Delta, as they marked the 30th anniversary of the execution of renowned environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders.
The commemorative event, held at the Lagos office of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), brought together activists, environmental advocates, and community leaders under the banner of continued resistance against environmental degradation and injustice in the oil-rich region.
Speaking at the event, Nnimmo Bassey, Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and chairman of the anniversary planning committee, described the execution of the Ogoni Nine on November 10, 1995, as a “deliberate, cold, and calculated act of state violence designed to silence truth and crush dissent.”
Bassey noted that the slain activists were not executed for violating any law, but for standing against environmental destruction, exploitation, and the repression of their people by multinational oil companies and the Nigerian state.
He highlighted Saro-Wiwa’s philosophy of ERECTISM — a vision that called for ethnic autonomy, environmental responsibility and community resource control, positioning it as a foundation for sustainable development and national unity.
“Thirty years after their execution, the injustice that claimed their lives persists,” Bassey said, citing ongoing pollution, toxic oil spills, and the loss of livelihoods in Ogoni communities.
He condemned the continuing environmental degradation and criticised oil companies’ divestment strategies, which he said are designed to offload responsibility for decades of damage without accountability.
The coalition also dismissed the recent presidential pardon granted to the Ogoni Nine, calling it a “hollow political gesture” that distorts history rather than addressing the root of their judicial murder.
They further criticised the government’s continued seizure of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s memorial bus, despite a court order mandating its release.
In a joint statement, the groups outlined five key demands: A thorough and transparent clean-up of Ogoniland and the broader Niger Delta; Full accountability and reparations from multinational oil companies; justice for impacted communities; protection for environmental and human rights defenders; and a complete halt to renewed oil exploration in Ogoniland.
“These are not mere demands, they are Ken Saro-Wiwa’s unfinished business. Thirty years after his judicial murder, his struggle is still alive,” the statement read.
The commemoration was supported by a coalition of environmental and human rights organisations including HOMEF, CAPPA, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre, Oil Watch International, Social Action, Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative, We The People, Lekeh Development Foundation, and the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre).
