News

Clemency: CSOs Carpet Presidency Over Comment On Ken Saro-Wiwa

Published

7 months ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

The civil society community in Nigeria has taken a swap on the presidency over what it regarded as “insensitive, offensive, sordid and misleading” picture painted by the presidency over the murdered Ogoni 9, and the recent “pardon” granted to them and others by President Bola Tinubu.

Recall that Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Mr Bayo Onanuga, while publicly announcing the justifications for the pardons and clemency, said: “Illegal miners, white-collar convicts, remorseful drug offenders, foreigners, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, capital offenders such as Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro Wiwa, and the other Ogoni Eight were among the 175 convicts and former convicts who received President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mercy on Thursday.”

Onanuga further said in the statement: “Also referred to 4 Ogoni leaders who were unfortunately murdered by a mob in 1995, and whose murder the Ogoni 9 were framed for, as ‘victims of the Ogoni 9.”

But a statement issued by Health of Mother Earth Foundation and 13 other civil society organisations, reads: “The statement by the Presidential Adviser is laced with insinuations and references that have no bearing on history, reality and globally acceptable facts about the occurrences that led to the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and his fellow rights activists on November 10, 1995.”

The civil society groups described it as “unacceptable that despite overwhelming evidence of the miscarriage of justice against the Ogoni 9, which resulted in their hurried execution, the Nigerian state still considers them guilty and deserving of a pardon.”

The environment-based activist groups, who said the Presidency acknowledged the fact that Sir Herbert Macaulay was unjustly treated by the colonialists, wondered why the same Presidency failed to acknowledge the fact that Ken Saro Wiwa and the other ogonis were unjustly murdered by the military government.

The statement reads: “In the said statement, no mention was made of the abuse of the judicial process nor of the fact that the constitutional right to appeal was not extended to the 9.

“It is particularly interesting to note that in reference to Sir Herbert Macaulay, whom the President considers to have been unjustly treated by the colonialists, the statement had the following additional statement: ‘President Tinubu also corrected the historic injustice committed by British colonialists against Sir Herbert Macaulay, one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists.’ One wonders why the same clarification was not provided for the Ogoni 9.”

The CSOs, who said “what we continue to demand is the complete exoneration of Ken Saro-
Wiwa and his eight comrades,” expressed worries that the “half-hearted pardon extended by the President may be a strategic ploy to resume the extraction of crude oil in Ogoniland, a move that has so far been condemned and resisted by all well-meaning Nigerians.”

They stressed that “the reference to Ken Saro-Wiwa and his comrades by the Presidency is insensitive and offensive to their memory and that of other victims of environmental injustice.”

They, therefore, called
on President Bola Tinubu to “immediately withdraw the ‘pardon’ to Ken Saro Wiwa and his colleagues, and replace it with an unequivocal apology and condemnation of the faulty judicial process that resulted in their murder, followed by a gazette pronouncement quashing their murder conviction.”

According to them “Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, and Barinem Kiobel were exemplary leaders of the Ogoni nation who responded peacefully to the plight of their people and the destruction of their environment. Their commitment to right historical wrongs against their people and the environment should be recognised and commended.”

News

Edo NLC Crisis: Caretaker Committee Drags Rival Exco, Govt To Court

Published

14 minutes ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The division in the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), took a new dimension on Wednesday as Prof. Monday Monday Lewis Igbafen-led caretaker committee approached the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Benin Judicial Division, seeking to affirm its authority and restrain a rival executive from parading itself as the council’s leadership.

Joined in the suit are the Edo State Government, the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

In a suit marked: NICN/BEN/12/2026, and filed before the court in Benin, the claimant, Igbafen, acting for himself and on behalf of the NLC Caretaker Committee in Edo State, is challenging the continued occupation of the union’s secretariat and control of its assets by members of the Bernard Egwakhide-led factional State Executive Council.

The claimants are asking the court to declare that the caretaker committee (Igbafen-led faction), constituted on August 11, 2025, by the NLC national leadership, remains the only lawful authority to administer the affairs of the Edo State Council pending fresh elections.

They further seek a declaration that the continued occupation of the NLC secretariat located at No. 1 Teboga Road, Benin City, as well as the retention of union assets, financial records, and official instruments by the defendants, is illegal and void.

The suit also prays for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from parading themselves as officials of the NLC Edo Council or interfering with the functions of the caretaker committee.

In addition, the claimants are seeking a mandatory order compelling the defendants to immediately hand over the secretariat, vehicles, financial documents, cheque books, and all other properties belonging to the union.

The caretaker committee further urged the court to restrain the state government and its officials from interfering in the internal affairs of the union, alleging undue support for the dissolved executive.

The claimants further demand N50 million as general and exemplary damages against the defendants for alleged unlawful usurpation of office and acts prejudicial to the administration of the council.

According to court documents made available to our correspondent, the crisis followed the dissolution of the Edo State Council by the NLC National Executive Council on February 27, 2025, over allegations of misconduct, anti-union activities, and constitutional violations.

However, the matter has yet to be assigned a hearing date.

News

Transfer: Premier League Clubs Scramble For Dele-Bashiru

Published

6 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

Lazio midfielder, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is a subject of interest from three Premier League clubs, according to Sky Sports.

Lazio reportedly rejected offers from Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth for the Nigeria international in January.

La Biancolesti are bracing for more interest in Dele-Bashiru ahead of the summer transfer window, according to Sky Sports.

The 24-year-old has two years left on his contract with the Serie A club.

The attacking midfielder joined the Rome-based club from Turkish Super Lig outfit Hatayspor in 2024.

He has been a regular feature for Lazio this season.

News

Xenophobic Attacks: Nigerian Students To Picket MTN, MultiChoice, Other Businesses

Published

6 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Editor

The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS South-West Zone D, has announced plans to picket South African companies in Nigeria following the ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.

DAILY POST reports that some Nigerians were recently killed in South Africa over the violent attacks.

A statement issued to newsmen by Comrade Adeyemo Josiah Kayode, Coordinator, NANS South-West, Zone D, said that the association is mobilizing to take decisive and lawful action by organizing peaceful picketing and mass advocacy against South African business interests operating in Nigeria.

“We categorically state that the continued targeting of Nigerians under any guise is unacceptable and must come to an immediate end.

“This will include major corporations such as MTN Group and MultiChoice Group. It is morally indefensible for businesses to thrive in an environment where the lives of Nigerians are protected, while Nigerians are subjected to fear and violence elsewhere.

“This contradiction will no longer be tolerated,” the statement said.