The late Ken Saro-Wiwa, a minority rights activist, was in the vanguard of the campaign against environmental degradation in the Niger Delta. At the peak of his campaign, Saro-Wiwa and some of his Ogoni kinsmen were arrested, tried by a military tribunal, and hanged 23 years ago. FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Ag. Head, Judiciary reports:Ken Saro-Wiwa was an environmental rights activist and a founding member/ spokesman of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) in Rivers State. He later became the President of MOSOP.
The foundation MOSOP lay towards the actualization of a unified perception when Ogoni people compiled ‘’the Ogoni Bill of Rights’’ in November 1990, crumbled in 1994 and turned into one of the most unpleasant days in the history of the ethnic nationality.During the peak of the Ogoni crisis, four prominent sons of Ogoniland were brutally killed on Saturday, May 21, 1994 by some youths. The deceased, namely, the former Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Mr. Albert Badey, former Commissioners in the state, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage and Secretary, Gokana Council of Chiefs, Theophilus Orage, were men who had had differences with the Saro-Wiwa-led MOSOP.The Rivers State Government promptly arrested Saro-Wiwa and several other MOSOP leaders. On February 6, 1995, Saro-Wiwa, his deputy, Ledum Mittee, Dr. Barinien Nubair Kiobel, John Kpunien and Baribour Berra, were arraigned as the first batch of accused persons in the gruesome murder.They were charged with four counts of conspiracy and murder before a special military tribunal, headed by Justice Ibrahim Auta in Port Harcourt.
A team of lawyers, led by Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Messrs. Olisa Agbakoba and Femi Falana, all notable human rights attorneys , appeared for the accused men. Curiously, the first accused person, Berra, was listed as a prosecution witness. On the objection of the defence team, the prosecution counsel explained this away as a mistake.
On March 30, 1995, 10 more suspects were brought before the tribunal on a similar charge of murder. They were; Paul Levura, Joseph Kpante, Michael Vizor, Daniel Gbokoo, Albert Kagbara, Afa Kagabra, Saturday Dobee, Monday Donwin, Felix Nwate and Nordu Eawo.
At the arraignment, Chief Philip Umeadi (SAN) led prosecuting team assisted by Mr. Joseph Daudu (immediate past NBA President) while Fawehinmi did not relent in his defence of the minority rights activists.
On same March 30, Fawehinmi made two applications. One of the applications was that he should be given two weeks to consult with his clients and get full briefing. This was on the ground that since Saro-Wiwa, Mittee and others were arrested, neither he nor the other defence counsel had been allowed access to them. They had been detained at the Bori military camp in Rivers State.
The lead defence counsel later argued a bail application, which was refused on March 13, 1995 by the tribunal. The tribunal also turned down the plea to transfer Saro-Wiwa and others from the military detention camp to the prison custody.
In his ruling, the tribunal chairman said there was no guarantee that the accused persons would not jump bail and the members of MOSOP might even storm the prison where they could be held and liberate their leaders.
Fawehinmi had earlier instituted an action at the Federal High Court in which he sought to restrain the tribunal from going ahead with the trial and entire proceedings. Characteristically, the court declined the application on grounds of ouster provision.
At the tribunal sitting, the defence team encountered hostility outside the venue of the tribunal from security men. A chain of events also unfolded relating to the issue of tendering of tape of a press conference addressed by Major Paul Okuntimo (later Col) on May 22, 1994, a day after the May 21 incident.
Claiming that there was a brick wall in a bid to professionally represent the accused persons as planned, the defence team withdrew from the matter.
The defence team said given the entire circumstances of the trial, the intimidation, harassment and frustrations they had suffered, all in a bid to carry out their professional services, they were convinced that the government had made up its mind to convict the accused persons.
Thus, they did not see any further usefulness to their carrying on with the charade. To the lawyers, it was the fear of conferring legitimacy on an impending murder that made them to withdraw.
This evoked memories of the Zango- Kataf civil disturbances tribunal of 1992, then headed by retired Justice Benedict Okadigbo. In that case, Chief G.O.K Ajayi (SAN) was similarly forced to withdraw his represntion for Major. Gen. Zamani Lekwot and six of his kinsmen charged with murder during a communal riot.
Hardly had Fawehinmi withdrawn when the Auta tribunal assigned counsel to Saro-Wiwa and the other accused persons. But the MOSOP leaders refused to co-operate with them because they were not counsel of their choice.
Thus, on August 1, 1995, the tribunal was forced to adjourn sitting as one of the lawyers, Mr. Taremowei Koroye, from the Legal Aid Council, assigned to represent Saro-Wiwa, withdrew on the ground that the accused person had refused to cooperate with him.
Another lawyer from the Legal Aid Council also had a similar experience and also complained of lack of access to the accused persons.
While ruling on August 7, 1995 on a nocase submission of Saro-Wiwa’s assigned counsel, Justice Auta had said : ‘there is evidence of the leadership of MOSOP who by meetings, rallies, provocative and instigating pronouncements lit the fuse that produced the consuming events of May 21, 1994 at Gbenemene’s palace, Giokoo.’’ The no-case submission of other accused persons was also struck out.
One month later, precisely on September 18, 1995, Saro-Wiwa began a hunger strike to protest his continued incarceration in a military camp and certain pronouncements that seemed to find him guilty even before his trial was concluded.On October 3, 1995, the trial of 15 of the accused persons was concluded and on October 30, 1995, the Auta-tribunal gave judgement in respect of the second batch of 10 accused persons.Five of them were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. They were, Saturday Dobee, Felix Nwate, Nordu Eawo, Paul Levura and Daniel Gbokoo. Monday Donwin had been discharged earlier upon the ‘’no-case submission of his assigned counsel. The remaining four were discharged. The next day, October 31, 1995, the tribunal gave its judgement in the case of the first five. In this category were Saro-Wiwa, Barinien Kiobel, John Kpunien and Baribour Berra. They were convicted as charged and sentenced to death by hanging.Strangely, Mittee, the then MOSOP Vice-President , was discharged and acquitted on the ground that he was not present at the meeting where some 14 persons branded as ‘’vultures ‘’ were marked for death.Reviewing the evidence against Saro- Wiwa, the tribunal chairman said several witnesses had testified that Saro-Wiwa allegedly formed a number of parallel organisations including the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP), which turned out to be a militant wing of MOSOP. These groups, Auta said, owed single-minded allegiance to Saro-Wiwa whose directives must be implemented.
Justice Auta said Garrick Leton, former MOSOP President, described Saro- Wiwa as a very ‘’insistent person’’ whose will had to be done. This view was also shared by the second prosecution witness, Mrs. Priscilla Vikue , whose house was allegedly destroyed by some youth led by Dr. Owens Wiwa, Ken Saro-Wiwa’s younger brother.
Besides, Justice Auta said Saro-Wiwa failed to deny the statement that he ordered NYCOP members to kill the ‘’vultures ‘’, and that by not entering into his defence, he failed to provide any evidence that could be weighed in his favour.
The slain Ogoni leaders were branded ‘’vultures’’ because the youths alleged that they were growing wealthy on the misery of Ogoni people by taking money from Shell and Chevron , the main oil companies that operate in Ogoniland at the time.
The result, the tribunal chairman said, was that the evidence against Saro Wiwa was unrefuted and had to be accepted.
Justice Auta said it was Saro-Wiwa’s decision that MOSOP should boycott the June 12, 1993 presidential election which polarised the movement.
The tribunal chairman also said having established that MOSOP and NYCOP laid the foundation for the bloodbath on May 21, 1994, Saro-Wiwa and his group were remorseless as shown by their reactions to the killings.
Having come to this conclusion, Justice Auta declared his verdict “the sentence of this tribunal is that you be hanged on the neck until you be dead, and may the Lord have mercy on your soul.’’
The decision of the tribunal was condemned immediately by all and sundry, except the relatives of the four Ogoni sons brutally murdered on May 21, 1994 and top government officials including the then Foreign Affairs Minister, Tom Ikimi.
The Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) hurriedly confirmed the sentences passed on the men and on November 10, 1995, Saro-Wiwa and eight others were hanged at Port Harcourt prison. The execution of the sentences took place despite a deluge of appeals to Gen. Sani Abacha and his men to spare the lives of the convicts. Saro-Wiwa’s execution provoked international outrage and resulted in Nigeria’s suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations.
*This article is a republication as part of our Nov. 10th special editions to remember Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni8
