Activists under the aegis of the Peoples Advancement Centre have lamented that 28 years after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa by the military junta of the late head of state General Sani Abacha over his agitation for the rights of people of Ogoni land, the federal government is yet to meet any of their demands.
Addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday, the group’s team leader, Akpobari Celestine, said the injustice that led to Ken Saro-Wiwa’s struggle had continued to fester.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to exonerate Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists and order an immediate review of the judgement that was given by the Military Tribunal in 1995 that sentenced them to death.
Akpobari said, “It should be recalled that when Nigeria returned to Democracy in 1999, only June 12 and the Ogoni issue were on the front burner. As a matter of direct state policy, issues concerning June 12 and the Yorubas have been properly settled but sadly, one item on the legitimate demands list of the Ogoni people has not been acceded to.”
He also urged the president to urgently and passionately look into the demands of Ogoni people as enshrined in the Ogoni Bill of Rights with a view to addressing them.
He said this includes the issue of political marginalisation of Ogoni people. “It will interest Mr President that no Ogoni has been Governor, Deputy Governor, Speaker or Chief Judge since the creation of Rivers State on 27 May 1967,” he added.
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