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BREAKING: Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Brother, Owens, Joins Tinubu’s Meeting With Ogoni Leaders In Abuja To Demand Exoneration Of Late Brother, 8 Other Activists Executed By Abacha

Sahara Reporters 2025/2/9
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Sources revealed that Owens Wiwa is present to urge the Nigerian government to exonerate his brother and eight other Ogoni activists who were executed by the former dictator General Sani Abacha.

Dr. Owens Wiwa, the younger brother of the late author and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, is participating in an ongoing meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Ogoni leaders at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, SaharaReporters has learned.

Sources revealed that Owens Wiwa is present to urge the Nigerian government to exonerate his brother and eight other Ogoni activists who were executed by the former dictator General Sani Abacha.

“Ken Saro-Wiwa’s younger brother, Dr. Owens Wiwa, is in attendance to demand from the Nigerian government an exoneration of his brother and eight other Ogoni activists who were executed by ex-dictator General Sani Abacha,” a source privy to information about the meeting told SaharaReporters on Tuesday.

It was earlier reported on Tuesday that President Bola Tinubu was holding a high-level meeting with Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and key leaders from Ogoniland at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Some of those also participating in the meeting are Senator Lee Maeba, Senator Magnus Abe, Senator Olaka Nwogu, Chief Victor Giadom, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

On Saturday, SaharaReporters exclusively reported that the Nigerian government, led by President Bola Tinubu, was set to hold a closed-door meeting with prominent Ogoni leaders in Abuja to discuss the resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland.

It was noted that the meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, 2025, would take place at the Presidential Villa, with arrangements overseen by National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

Sources told SaharaReporters that some leaders had been invited for a two-night stay at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, beginning Monday, January 20, 2025.

"Travel arrangements, including flights from Port Harcourt to Abuja, have been organized, with logistical details expected to be shared soon," a source told SaharaReporters.

In a message obtained by SaharaReporters, the invitation extended to the leaders emphasized their critical role in the discussions.

The letter reads: "I hope this message finds you well. On behalf of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, I am pleased to invite you, as an important Ogoni stakeholder, to a meeting with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

"Reservations have been made for you at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, for two nights, beginning from Monday. You will soon receive details regarding your flight from Port Harcourt on Monday, January 20, 2025, and other logistics. We look forward to your presence. Should you have any questions, kindly contact us."

Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists were executed in 1995 by military dictator, Abacha

The activists, who became known as Ogoni 9, were from the Ogoni region and had opposed the operating practices of the Royal Dutch Shell oil corporation.

Apart from author and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, others were Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine.

 In October 2021, the Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation said it wanted exoneration and not pardons to be granted to Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight others executed by the military dictator.

The Foundation was reacting to a statement attributed to then President Muhammadu Buhari, saying he was considering granting a state pardon to Saro-Wiwa and others executed at the height of the Ogoni crisis in the 1990s.

A statement signed by Dr Owens Wiwa, brother of Ken Saro-Wiwa, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Foundation and obtained by SaharaReporters, however, said the late activist and the eight others who were murdered by the Abacha regime were not criminals.

They were tried by a special military tribunal for allegedly masterminding the murder of Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting, and hanged in 1995 by the military dictatorship of General Abacha.

The statement titled, ‘Exoneration Not Pardon For Ken Saro-Wiwa,’ read: “The Board of Directors of the Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation (KSWF) have received and read the statement from Mr (Femi) Adesina, the Special Adviser on Communications to the President of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), in which the President conveyed his willingness to grant clemency or pardons to Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight Ogoni activists illegally executed by the Nigerian Military Dictatorship of Sani Abacha on November 10, 1995, after a sham trial.

“Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other Eight Ogonis were not criminals. They were innocent activists unjustly murdered for fighting for a just cause on behalf of their oppressed community. The path to true peace in the region begins with justice. The cleaning up of the environment for which they campaigned and died for is a first good step.

“The exoneration of Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 other Ogoni activists, judicially murdered on November 10 1995 is another step towards peace.

“The family of Ken Saro-Wiwa have made a request for the exoneration of Ken Saro-Wiwa to the President in the past and are still waiting for a response. We urge the President to again consider this request as a path to justice and peace.”

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