NewStats: 3,265,403 , 8,186,617 topics. Date: Saturday, 14 June 2025 at 07:08 PM 1m5ix

10 Key Facts About Nigeria’s Ogoni Nine You Should Know

1. Who Were They? The Ogoni Nine—Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine—were activists from Ogoniland, Nigeria, fighting for environmental and social justice.

2. 📷Their Cause: They led the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), demanding ability from oil companies like Shell for devastating Ogoniland’s environment through oil spills.

3. Non-Violent Protests: Their protests were peaceful, using global campaigns and local rallies to highlight the pollution that ruined farmland, rivers, and livelihoods in the Niger Delta. 📷

4. 📷Framed for Murder: In 1994, the Nine were falsely accused of killing four Ogoni chiefs during a riot. Evidence suggests the the military regime orchestrated the charges to silence them. ⚖️

5. Sham Trial: 📷 Under Gen. Sani Abacha’s dictatorship, they faced a biased military tribunal with no fair defense. Witnesses later itted to being bribed to testify against them.

6. Execution in 1995: Despite global appeals from figures like Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton, the Nine were hanged on Nov 10, 1995, sparking worldwide condemnation.

7. Global Impact: Their deaths led to Nigeria’s suspension from the Commonwealth and intensified scrutiny of Shell’s role in the Niger Delta. 📷

8. 📷 Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Legacy: A renowned writer and activist, Saro-Wiwa’s eloquent speeches and writings continue to inspire environmental justice movements worldwide. 📷📷

9. Pardon in 2025: In 2025, President Tinubu pardoned the Ogoni Nine, acknowledging the injustice and honoring their fight for Ogoniland’s future. 📷

10. Environmental struggle over?:📷 The Ogoni struggle persists, with calls for complete environmental cleanup and fair resource distribution in the Niger Delta. Their sacrifice fuels hope. 📷
#KenSaroWiwa #NigerDelta #OgoniNine #Pardon

https://x.com/OlufemiOG/status/1933147162008813950

The fight didn’t end with the hangings. What about the Ogoni Nine Widows

For nearly 3 decades, widows of the #OgoniNine—especially Esther Kiobel—have fought for truth and justice. Here’s a short thread about their struggle, courage, and resistance.🧵
#KenSaroWiwa #JusticeForOgoniNine #ShellKnew

1. Esther Kiobel watched her world collapse in 1995.
Her husband, Dr. Barinem Kiobel, one of the Ogoni Nine, was executed after a sham trial. Esther says he was innocent, targeted for his activism, and betrayed by both state and oil power.

2. She believes Shell was complicit.
Esther has consistently alleged that Shell Nigeria played a role in her husband’s arrest and death by collaborating with the Nigerian military regime. Shell denies the claims—but the allegations persist.

3. She fled Nigeria in fear.
After her husband’s execution, Esther fled Nigeria for safety. She lived in exile, eventually resettling in the U.S., carrying only grief—and a burning desire for justice.

4. She sued Shell in U.S. courts.
In 2002, Esther and other widows brought a case in New York under the Alien Tort Statute, accusing Shell of aiding and abetting human rights violations, including torture and extrajudicial killings.

5. The case was dismissed in 2013.
In Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the ATS did not apply to foreign conduct. The case made global headlines—but the door to justice in U.S. courts closed.

6. She didn’t stop.
In 2017, Esther Kiobel filed a new case—this time in the Netherlands, where Shell’s parent company is based. She and three other widows once again accused Shell of involvement in the killing of their husbands.

7. The Dutch trial began in 2019.
For the first time, the widows faced Shell in a courtroom in The Hague. Esther testified about threats, arrests, and how Shell’s relationship with the regime endangered their families.

8. In 2022, the Dutch court dismissed the case.
The court said the evidence was not sufficient to hold Shell liable. Disappointed but not defeated, Esther called the verdict a “betrayal” of justice—but a chapter, not the end.

9. Their struggle is part of history.
These widows have become symbols of courage, refusing silence. They've taken on a global oil giant, armed with memory, truth, and moral clarity. #EstherKiobel #OgoniWidows

10. Their cause is our cause.
This is more than a legal battle—it’s a demand for corporate ability, human dignity, and environmental justice. The widows of the Ogoni Nine are also heroines in the fight for a better world.🌍

#OgoniNine #KenSaroWiwa #NigerDelta #Nigeria #Pardon

https://x.com/OlufemiOG/status/1933152750629425325?t=U6fFly1D6Lmwxqx3rARGwg&s=19

I that day as a small boy in Port Harcourt.
Today, what brought the killings in Ogoni is still happening.
The key players such as Ken advocated freedom for the Niger Delta and total ownership of the resources of the Niger Delta to the right people. But the government has not done so.

Good write up to educate the Indomie generation about the Ogoni struggle.

Many people only know about the key player "Ken Sarowiwa" but now knows some other key participants.

Thanks for the information @Op. I was asking earlier what was their crime, as I knew Saro wiwa and co were simply activists.

No. 4 reason is now clear for their unjust arrest and execution.

Correcting the errors made by the military will be one of Tinubu's best achievements. Honoring those who were brutalized during the military years is a good one.

GooD Write-up.
I witnessed such personally
Military APCs were rolled in...
I can still the images of that day.

I met Ken Saro-Wiwa, a very quiet man inside Odusote Bookstores Ltd, Okebola Ibadan for the first time in 1994 as a boy. People were seen exchange greetings with him and then, I plcked interest and moved closer. He came to check some of his books displayed on the shelf for sale. He was always with his pipe in his mouth. I also met him in 1995, shortly before his execution. May his soul RIP

Longlive Ken Saro wiwa...Abacha no try at all

Toor and the region they died for today have gave birth to so many so called activists, who later became goverment officials they only collect money without developing their region..... If u look at d budget of those states, you will wonder why their people still wallow in poverty and many of their youths jobless....

Abacha was ruthless though, killed them and didn't release their bodies.... Where abacha dey today?

D biggest problem of Africa are Africans...

Niger deltans are not serious at all. Instead of forming a United front they are dancing to their. Oppressors tune

Ken sari. Wiwa fought against BIAFRA with the oppressors and later the oppressors paid him in full.

General Sani Abacha went too far.
May their Souls Continue To Rest in Peace 🕯️

Hmmmm while Abacha may remain a bad person in so many people's minds, especially those who where adults during his regime, only God knows the amount of atrocities going in silently in this democracy regimes

Fulani had been tormenting Nigeria for a long time, to fvcking helll with Abacha and all fulanis!

Their killing was politically motivated and their pardon is also politically motivated.

that day as a small boy in Port Harcourt.
Today, what brought the killings in Ogoni is still happening.
The key players such as Ken advocated freedom for the Niger Delta and total ownership of the resources of the Niger Delta to the right people. But the government has not done so.

hmm

Ken Saro-Wiwa's Sozaboy is all time classic.

Read it more than a decade ago in high school and I can't get it over my head.

A strong force.
The Nine 9 ✔️
9️⃣

Memories and conversations from times back...

One Sunday morning, Abacha kill saro wiwa....
One Sunday morrrrrning.. Abacha kill saro wiwa..

Ogoni people come dey vex

The death of Nairaland is near.

I see it plummeting to the ground soon.

I wonder who dey advice the seun sef.

something's are better left the way they are

wwwihy:



https://x.com/OlufemiOG/status/1933147162008813950



https://x.com/OlufemiOG/status/1933152750629425325?t=U6fFly1D6Lmwxqx3rARGwg&s=19

Good write up, though I would like to ask you if you have any evidence of your point 5'The witness confessing that they were bribed'.

It is a very important point

Thanks

Ironfaceman:
Niger deltans are not serious at all. Instead of forming a United front they are dancing to their. Oppressors tune

Ken sari. Wiwa fought against BIAFRA with the oppressors and later the oppressors paid him in full.

Start from when Adaka Boro was agitating peacefully for seccession and Ojukwu together with Igbos imprisoned him.

Only for the same Ojukwu to start crying for secession less than 24 months later.

I can still recall the 'Ogoni nine case'. It made headlines on every tabloid. Ken Saro Wiwa, your legacy still lives on! Now that I think about it, Before Ken Saro Wiwa, there was another activist called Isaac Adaka Boro. I once read a book about him titled: 'The man who died'. I think it was authored by Wole Soyinka. Correct me if I'm wrong.

RightChannel:
Fulani had been tormenting Nigeria for a long time, to fvcking helll with Abacha and all fulanis!

No be everything be Fulani.
Abacha wasn't Fulani. He was kanuri.

These are the real Environmental Activists
The ones we have now are Pocket Activists.The poor masses should stop hating each other and come together to stop those enriching theirselve from the allocation that is supposed to be used to improve the standard of living of the people over there.

Abacha, na God go judge you, Obasanjo self almost kpai in the hands of Abacha

:
The death of Nairaland is near.

I see it plummeting to the ground soon.

I wonder who dey advice the seun sef.

something's are better left the way they are

I also noticed the deep drop in participation. First it was Twitter and now ppl have flocked to TikTok in big numbers.

I this period, though I was quite young. Nigeria was sanctioned by many countries for hanging these people.

That was why we did not participate in nations cup in 1996 and 1998.

Abacha was really a terror in those days. He was too powerful for himself. Even some of his very close associates itted that Abacha had to be eliminated else he will get excessively power drunk.

Kenule Saro Wiwa didn't understand Nigeria's politics.
Abacha, unlike Babangida listened to Saro Wiwa and even offered him the position of petroleum minister.

Saro Wiwa declined and insisted on full control of Ogoni resources.

A prominent chief, chief Kobani and others felt Abacha was too rigid with the government and decided to accept offers from both Shell and the FG, Some Youths of Ogoni heard about the betrayal and attack them during a meeting injuring several people and killing four, including chief Kobani.

The government swung into action and used the opportunity to accuse, and arrest and silence Saro Wiwa for good.

Note that Saro Wiwa was not even in the country when the incident took place, but he came back to answer the charges against him.

Pardon after killing them? Anyone putting his/her life on the line for Nigeria is on his/her own o. Them go just carry you shine years later! See MKO, see the Ogoni 9! I no fit shout biko!

I don't this government... But on this one, tinubu has my unflinching . Baba tinubu well done

Number 9..

WTH?

Honouring their whatever with mouth abi?

Abegi...