ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) 鈥� 狈颈驳别谤颈补鈥檚 President has posthumously pardoned nine environmental activists executed 30 years ago by the then-ruling military junta, drawing sharp criticism and anger from activists who argued on Friday that the individuals committed no crime.
During an event Thursday to mark the 26th anniversary of return to democracy, Tinubu pardoned the 鈥淥goni Nine,鈥� including celebrated writer , and described them as 鈥渘ational heroes.鈥�
The men were convicted of murdering four local chiefs and were hanged in 1995 by the then-military regime led by Gen. Sani Abacha. They were part of the Ogoni ethnic group in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, and had protested in the region by multinational oil companies, particularly Shell.
Their trial and murder sparked international outrage at the time, with rights groups calling it unjust and lacking credible evidence.
Local rights and civil society groups described Tinubu's pardon as misleading and 鈥渋nsulting.鈥�
鈥淎 pardon is given to people who have been convicted of wrongdoing," said Ken Henshaw, executive director of local rights group We The People.
Henshaw said the process leading to their execution did not prove that they were guilty of the allegations against them. 鈥淔or him (Tinubu) to say he wants to pardon them is a misnomer,鈥� he added.
The Nigerian government must also recognize formally that the murdered activists are 鈥渋nnocent of any crime and fully exonerate them,鈥� said Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International 狈颈驳别谤颈补鈥檚 director.
鈥淔ull justice for the Ogoni Nine is only a first step," said Sanusi. 鈥淢uch more needs to be done to get justice for communities in the Niger Delta, including holding Shell and other oil companies to account for the damage they have done and continue to do.鈥�
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Dyepkazah Shibayan, The Associated Press
