In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the killing of Ken Saro Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, together with long standing civil society allies, organised a memorial lecture on October 10, 2025, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Hotel in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The lecture, themed “Ken Saro Wiwa. The Man, His Legacies, Struggles and Challenges,” brought together activists, scholars, community representatives, and policymakers to reflect on Saro Wiwa’s life, advocacy and continuing influence on environmental justice and democratic struggles in Nigeria.
The programme, coordinated alongside HOMEF, Environmental Rights Action, Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Oilwatch, Social Action, Kebetkache, We the People and other partners, opened with a minute of silence and prayers for the slain environmentalists. Thereafter, Comrade Celestine AkpoBari, Team Lead of the Peoples’ Advancement Centre, delivered the welcome address, reminding participants that Saro Wiwa’s legacy remains central to ongoing efforts for justice, accountability and environmental restoration in the Niger Delta.
In their remarks, Rev. Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, and Dr Owens Wiwa, Ken’s younger brother, reflected on Saro Wiwa’s courage and humanity. They noted that his writings and activism continue to shape global environmental and human rights advocacy. Nnimmo stressed that Saro Wiwa left behind a struggle that all present generations are obliged to advance.
The keynote address by Mr Femi Falana SAN served as the day’s major highlight. Falana revisited his engagements with Saro Wiwa and the events leading to the executions, describing them as a painful but necessary memory for Nigeria’s moral and political conscience. He honoured Saro Wiwa as a man of conviction who confronted authoritarian power in defence of truth and justice. He urged the Nigerian government to move beyond symbolic recognition and take concrete steps toward the full restoration of Ogoni through a comprehensive cleanup of the oil damaged environment, reparations for affected communities and a formal legal exoneration of the Ogoni Nine. Falana also announced plans to establish a dedicated legal unit to address cases of environmental injustice in the Niger Delta, signalling a renewed commitment to ecological and social accountability in the region.
A lively panel discussion followed, moderated by Dr. Emem Okon, Executive Director of Kebetkache. The panel featured contributions from Prof. Steve Okodudu, Prof. Lucky Akaruese, Evangelist Caroline Nagbo, and Prof. Chris Akani who located Saro Wiwa’s work within Nigeria’s broader governance failures and the political economy of oil. The discussion underscored the persistent gap between state promises and lived realities in the Niger Delta, where pollution, underdevelopment and exclusion remain entrenched. The panellists argued for stronger community participation in resource governance, deeper institutional reforms, and intentional support for youth and women as central actors in sustaining the region’s justice movements.
The memorial lecture concluded with a recap of discussions by Comrade Ken Henshaw of We the People, closing reflections from Prof. Allen Fidelis, and a vote of thanks by Comrade Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of CAPPA. The event also produced key outcomes, including a renewed civil society consensus on the urgent need for full environmental remediation in Ogoni land, a unified call for a national review of Nigeria’s corporate accountability and extractive industry policies, and the strengthening of collaboration among Niger Delta advocacy groups.
