Ogoni Nine

Nigerian activists

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July 23, 2026

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The "Ogoni Nine" refers to nine Nigerian activists, including writer and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who were executed in 1995. They protested the environmental degradation caused by oil exploration in their homeland, the Ogoni region, by the Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch/Shell and the Nigerian military regime.1

Saro-Wiwa led the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, advocating for greater compensation from oil profits. Following the deaths of four Ogoni chiefs, Saro-Wiwa and eight others were arrested, tried by a military tribunal, and sentenced to death. Their executions drew international condemnation and led to Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth. In 2025, they were posthumously pardoned and honored by the Nigerian president.1

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Ken Saro-Wiwa
…fellow activists, known as the Ogoni Nine, were executed by hanging, which aroused international condemnation and led to calls for economic sanctions against Nigeria, and the country was suspended from the Commonwealth a day after the executions. Shell later announced its commitment to a natural gas project worth nearly $4…
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…fellow activists, known as the Ogoni Nine, were executed by hanging, which aroused international condemnation and led to calls for economic sanctions against Nigeria, and the country was suspended from the Commonwealth a day after the executions. Shell later announced its commitment to a natural gas project worth nearly $4…
Read More