THEY DESERVE JUSTICE
On 10 November, Amnesty UK and Justice 4 Nigeria held a candle-lit vigil outside Shell’s headquarters in London to mark the 30th anniversary of the execution of the Ogoni Nine. The date also coincided with the start of the UN climate talks (COP30) in Brazil. Isa Sanusi, Amnesty’s Nigeria country director, said: ‘The Ogoni Nine… were brutally executed in 1995 by a regime that wanted to hide the crimes of Shell and other oil companies. These companies were destroying – and continue to destroy – the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across the Niger Delta as a result of their devastating oil spills and leaks…
‘Extensive reporting from Amnesty International concluded that the oil company Shell knowingly provided encouragement and motivation to the military authorities to stop the [Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People; MOSOP] protests, even after the authorities repeatedly committed human rights violations in Ogoniland and specifically targeted Ken Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP.
strength stops. I want to fight to the end. When I win, Amnesty wins too. Amnesty stands for human rights and that’s what I do too.
In June, the Nigerian government pardoned the Ogoni Nine but failed to recognise formally that they were innocent of any crime and fully exonerate them… What Amnesty is doing energised President Bola Tinubu to do what he did. He didn’t just decide to pardon them. It was because people went out and made a noise about the issue. So, he had to do what is right. And it’s the beginning but I’m still expecting him to do it to the end.
Do you have a message for Amnesty supporters?
I appreciate everything they’ve done. Not only
‘With major oil spills yet to be cleaned up, the story of the Ogoni Nine has never been more pertinent. Their fight continues and their memories will never be forgotten, as will the plight of many other activists who continue to defend the environment.’
The Ogale and Bille communities are among those affected by the pollution of the Niger Delta. In 2025 they took Shell to the UK’s High Court to demand the company clean up the oil spills that have wrecked their livelihoods, health and local environment. Their case is scheduled to be heard in March 2027. A separate case against Renaissance, an oil company to which Shell recently sold its stake in onshore oil extraction in Nigeria, for the damage caused by oil spills to land belonging to the Bodo community in the Niger Delta, began in London in May 2025.
Amnesty’s new report Extraction Extinction: Why the lifecycle of fossil fuels threatens life, nature and human rights contains a tribute to the Ogoni Nine. Find it at
amnesty.org – search the title.
Amnesty UK, Amnesty all over the world. But I’m so small compared to Shell and the Nigerian government – so I still need your help and support. I wouldn’t be alive now without Amnesty. They helped me out of the refugee camp in Benin. If I hadn’t left maybe I would have been dead by now...
So I appreciate Amnesty and hope you’ll continue to stand by me until I get justice, and stand by other victims too, not just me, for us to make the world a better place.
Esther Kiobel’s book, Hon. Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel: The Untold Story is out now.
A documentary about Esther’s fight for
justice, Esther and the Law, is available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
SPRING 2026 AMNESTY 23
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