President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s June 12, 2025, state pardon and national honour for the late environmental activist Ken Saro Wiwa and eight of his fellow citizens have been rejected by the Ogoni Central Indigenous Authority(OCIA).
In an online interview with Vanguard on Sunday, OCIA President Dr. Goodluck Diigbo revealed this, saying the President’s gesture was inappropriate because the Ogoni-9 were never guilty of any crime against the Nigerian state that would have led to their pardon rather than being cleared of a false accusation.
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Speaking about the fear that prompted his instant rejection letter on June 12, 2025, Diigbo said he believes that President Tinubu is serious and wants to bring to a close that painful chapter of Nigeria’s past in a way to appease the Ogoni people.
“I surrender myself to exercise the scrutiny of a clear conscience and moral judgment and came to the conclusion that the exercise of the President’s pardon power in our case raises concerns of potential abuse, despite Tinubu’s good intention.
“This is because Ken Saro-Wiwa and my other eight brothers have not been exonerated. I feel the pardon and award can be challenged in a legitimate court of law in Nigeria, and Tinubu’s administration might easily lose as acting outside of the law or his powers as enshrined in Nigeria’s moribund 1999 Constitution.
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“It will be too late for us to REJECT the PARDON and AWARD. For the Pardon and Award to become genuine, my brothers must be exonerated. And since the outdated 1999 Constitution has no such provision, it does not deny the President the power to construct an Exoneration Administrative Framework to provide for exoneration, through a resolution adopted by the Parliament, expressing regret, and profound apology for the Nigerian State Sanctioned Murder of the Ogoni and thousands of other unnamed heroes, who heard my voice and those of others, and then joined our just cause”.
Diigbo said that “Such an Exoneration Administrative Framework is a mechanism, whereby provisions of the Constitution would find comfort. I’ve started to pursue such a mechanism to make the Pardon and Award legitimate. Yes, I’m in touch with members of the House of Representatives, but can’t speak of the specifics in that regard”.
