Amnesty International has urged President Bola Tinubu to go beyond the recent posthumous pardon of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight fellow activists by officially declaring them innocent.

Saro-Wiwa and the others—collectively known as the Ogoni Nine—were executed in 1995 by the military regime of Gen. Sani Abacha. Their deaths sparked international outrage and drew attention to environmental degradation in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

During his June 12 Democracy Day address, President Tinubu granted a pardon to the group. But Amnesty International says the move, while a step forward, still falls short of true justice.

“This is welcome news, but it falls far short of the justice the Ogoni Nine need and deserve – the Nigerian government must recognise formally that they are innocent of any crime and fully exonerate them,” said Isa Sanusi, Amnesty’s Director in Nigeria.

Sanusi accused the Nigerian government of using the executions to suppress protests against oil pollution and protect multinational oil firms from scrutiny.

“The Ogoni Nine, led by Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria’s leading author and campaigner, were brutally executed by a regime that wanted to hide the crimes of Shell and other oil companies,” he said.

He also called on the government and oil firms to take meaningful action to clean up the region and compensate affected communities.

“Full justice for the Ogoni Nine is only a first step,” Sanusi added. “Much more needs to be done… including holding Shell and other oil companies to account for the damage they have done and continue to do.”

Amnesty is now demanding full exoneration of the Ogoni Nine and a renewed commitment to environmental justice in the Niger Delta.