Falana Details How Abacha Junta Orchestrated Killing of Ogoni 4, 9
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, provided a detailed account of the events that led to the execution of the Ogoni 4 and the Ogoni 9 by the Sani Abacha military junta in 1995. Falana, who along with Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, defended Ken Saro-Wiwa and other MOSOP leaders, gave this testimony at the 84th posthumous birthday lecture of Ken Saro-Wiwa in Port Harcourt.
Falana stated that the brutal events were part of a desperate bid by the Nigerian State and Shell Petroleum Development Company to exploit oil resources without opposition.
He alleged that Shell was granted licenses to import arms and ammunition under the guise of protecting its assets, and these weapons later found their way into the hands of militants used to instigate communal fighting and divert attention from oil exploitation.
When the tactics of the multinational companies failed to silence the Ogoni people, Falana claimed that a Task Force led by Col. Paul Okintimo recruited “misguided militants” to kill the Ogoni 4 (a term referring to the four Ogoni chiefs murdered in 1994, whose deaths were pinned on the MOSOP leaders).
He noted that soldiers present at the scene of the crime made no arrests and took the bodies away to an unknown location.
Falana detailed how the military immediately used the killings to target the MOSOP leadership. As soon as Col. Okintimo informed authorities of the killings, the military governor of Rivers State, Col. Dauda Komo, publicly announced that Ken Saro-Wiwa and other MOSOP leaders would be held “vicariously liable” for the murders—a statement made before any investigation began.
A charge of murder filed at the High Court of Rivers State against the Ogoni 9 was initially discontinued because prosecutors admitted to the junta that the evidence was too weak to secure a conviction.
However, on the direct orders of General Sani Abacha, a special military tribunal was constituted for the trial. Falana stated that the defense counsel withdrew from the proceedings after the tribunal rejected vital material evidence in their favor, paving the way for the conviction and death sentences passed on the Ogoni 9.
