A former aide to the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and president of the National Union of Ogoni Students (NUOS,) USA, Freddie ldamkue, has called on President Bola Tinubu, to review the trial of the Ogoni Nine and exonerate them from what he described as trumped-up charges.
The call came as one of the steps to remedy the 1995, November 10, execution of Ogoni mythres bemoaning that after two decades of the “injustice” by the Nigerian government, no step has been taken to atone for the wrongdoing.
Idamkue also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun to beam his searchlight on Ogoni to probe the circumstances around the death of Dr Barine Lenee from the Buan community and Mr Barry Ogbom from the Bane community and bring to justice the families of the departed.
Idamkue, who is also an environmentalist in a signed statement, said after addressing journalists in Phoenix, Arizona, the United States of America,(USA), to commemorate the death of the Ogoni Nine execution, alleged that reports made available to him indicate that the Ogoni ethnic Nationality is still marginalised saying about 75% of inmates at the Nigeria Correctional Service in Port Harcourt are of Ogoni origin who are languishing because they could not perfect bail conditions and fines as low as N5,000, blaming both the government and oil multinationals for impoverishing the people with their negligence.
“Why is it that 28 years after the execution of the Ogoni Nine, Ogoni people are still suffering”, he queried.
He expressed worries over the deplorable conditions of infrastructure in Ogoniland and urged Governor Siminalayi Fubara to upgrade the Tertiary named after Ogoni legend by converting the Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic Bori into a full-fledged university.
Continuing, the activist called on the Federal Government to also review the implementation of all Constituency Projects that had been budgeted and approved for legislators in Rivers State to prosecute and obtain refunds from failed contractors and concerned politicians.
He charged the Ogoni indigenous to rise and hold their elected representatives at federal, state and local levels accountable for failure to deliver the dividends of democracy and as well, demand improved living conditions.
