In May 1994, Saro-Wiwa, who had been briefly imprisoned several times before, was abducted from his home and jailed along with other MOSOP leaders in connection with the murder of four Ogoni leaders. Amnesty International adopted Saro-Wiwa, a staunch advocate of non-violence, as a prisoner of conscience. Meanwhile, the Nigerian military took control of Ogoniland subjecting people to mass arrest, rape, execution, and the burning and looting of their villages.
In October 1995 a military tribunal tried and convicted Saro-Wiwa of murder. Governments and citizens’ organizations worldwide condemned the trial as fraudulent, and urged the Nigerian dictator to spare Saro-Wiwa’s life. They also called upon Shell to intervene.
On November 10, 1995 Saro-Wiwa and his eight co-defendants were hanged. The only crime he and his colleagues had committed was to demand sound environmental practices and to ask for compensation for the devastation of Ogoni territories.
The Ogoni cause has since been taken up by other Ogoni living in exile including Ken’s son, Ken Wiwa and his younger brother, Owens, a medical doctor. Despite the sudden death of Nigerian Dictator General Sani Abacha in 1998, the Ogoni region remains heavily militarized and the government has yet to agree to allow an independent environmental assessment to be conducted to determine the total extent of Shell’s pollution in the Niger Delta.
Ken Saro-Wiwa’s life has provided a legacy of great inspiration for human rights and environmental activists around the world.
