My father, Ken Saro-Wiwa, died fighting for a clean Nigeria. Thirty years on, it's time to stop sucking on the dirty teat of the oil cash cow

"Earlier this year, my father, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and his eight colleagues, known collectively as the Ogoni Nine, were pardoned for a crime they never committed. After peacefully campaigning against environmental degradation of Ogoniland in Nigeria at the hands of the oil industry, they were imprisoned by the military dictatorship on false charges of treason and incitement to murder, following a trial condemned by the international community as a sham."

"On 10 November 1995, the men were executed by hanging. Thirty years on, the government of President Bola Tinubu granted a pardon to the Ogoni Nine. While our families welcome this as a step in the right direction, it is not enough a pardon suggests that these nine innocent men committed a crime. Although the court of public opinion recognises their innocence and courage, it is important that they are officially exonerated."

"Ken Saro-Wiwa and thousands of brave Ogoni protesters ensured that Shell Oil pulled out of Ogoniland in 1993. Since then, the multinational has been held to account for some of its environmental damage and was ordered to pay compensation for oil spills including the disaster in Bodo in 2008. Shell subsequently divested from the Niger delta earlier this year and sold its onshore leases to a local consortium (which raises further concerns about their liability for past oil spills)."

Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight Ogoni activists campaigned peacefully against oil-driven environmental degradation in Ogoniland and were imprisoned by a military regime on false treason charges. The Ogoni Nine were executed by hanging on 10 November 1995. President Bola Tinubu granted a pardon thirty years later, a move welcomed by families but criticised because a pardon implies guilt rather than formal exoneration. Successive governments’ refusal to exonerate signals entrenched corruption and suppression of efforts to honour Saro-Wiwa’s legacy. Shell pulled out of Ogoniland in 1993, faced compensation orders, and sold onshore leases; remediation efforts continue but pollution and sabotage persist.

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