The President, Muhammadu Buhari, said on Friday that the
Federal Government would consider the request for the grant of pardon to
finally close the “Ogoni saga”.
In a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, the
President was quoted as saying this when Ogoni leaders paid him a visit at the
Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The Ogoni saga refers to the execution of Ogoni activist,
Ken Saro Wiwa, and others by the military regime of the late Gen Sani Abacha.
At the peak of his non-violent campaign, Saro-Wiwa and eight
others were tried by a special military tribunal for allegedly masterminding
the gruesome murder of Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting, and hanged in
1995.
Their execution provoked international outrage and resulted
in Nigeria’s suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations for over three years.
The United Nations General Assembly condemned the execution
while the European Union condemned the executions, which it called a “cruel and
callous act”, and imposed an arms embargo on Nigeria.
The United States recalled its ambassador from Nigeria,
imposed an arms embargo on Nigeria, and slapped travel restrictions on members
of the Nigerian military regime and their families.
The United Kingdom recalled its High Commissioner in
Nigeria, and British Prime Minister John Major called the executions judicial
murder. South Africa’s then, President, Nelson Mandela, lambasted Abacha for
the execution.
Twenty-six years after the incident, however, Buhari told
Ogoni leaders that he would consider a pardon.
Buhari said, “Despite the grievous circumstances, the
Federal Government will consider the request for the grant of pardon to finally
close the Ogoni saga.”
He added, “Furthermore, we are committed to ensuring
clemency and national integration as part of this regime’s bid to lay the
foundation for genuine reconciliation and bring closure to the issues of Ogoni
land.
“The unfortunate incidents of the early 1990s leading to the
loss of lives of distinguished sons of Ogoni land and the collateral judicial
processes are indelible in our memories.”
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