President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted a full presidential pardon to the late activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others known as the Ogoni Nine.
Tinubu announced on Thursday to mark this year’s Democracy Day celebrations.

Tinubu also conferred national honours on the Ogoni Nine.

He also conferred posthumous national honours on the late Kudirat Abiola, Bola Ige, former Nigerian President Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and other nationalists.

The president had earlier, in November 2024, promised to bridge historical grievances in Nigeria.

Recall that the military administration of a former Head of State, the late Sani Abacha, executed Saro-Wiwa and other activists in 1995 after they were accused of murder.

Others were Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine.

In June last year, Tinubu’s administration declared June 12 democracy day public holiday to mark a turning point in Nigeria’s democracy.

“I shall be exercising my powers under the prerogative of mercy to grant these national heroes a full pardon,” the President stated.“This decision acknowledges the injustices of the past and seeks to reconcile with history.”

The Ogoni Nine — including Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, and others — were executed in 1995 by the military regime of General Sani Abacha, sparking international condemnation. Their controversial trial and deaths became symbols of environmental and human rights abuses in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta.

Civil society groups and leaders across the country hailed the move as a long-overdue act of restorative justice