Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Thirty-one years after the gruesome murder of four prominent Ogoni leaders, their families and traditional institutions have called for genuine reconciliation as the only path to restoring peace, unity, and development in the oil-rich Ogoniland.
Speaking at a press briefing in Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, to mark the 31st anniversary of the Ogoni 4 namely, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Albert Badey, Chief Samuel Orage, and Chief Theophilus Orage, stakeholders insisted that the continued denial of the event and the refusal to release the victims’ remains had stalled true peace and political progress in Ogoniland.
Former Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Kenneth Kobani, son of the late Chief Edward Kobani, lamented that the families of the victims had endured decades of grief without closure.
“We had every reason to seek revenge but we chose forgiveness,” Kobani said. “However, 31 years later, we still cannot heal because we buried empty caskets. Those who know where our fathers’ remains are should please give them to us. We want peace, but there can be no reconciliation without closure.”
Kobani warned that the continued denial of the killings and attempts to rewrite history were deepening divisions within Ogoni communities and undermining ongoing peace efforts.
“Some people are still playing games with our pain,” he said. “You cannot deny what happened in broad daylight. We don’t hate anyone, but those using the Ogoni struggle for personal gain should leave us alone. Ogoni wants unity, Ogoni wants peace, and Ogoni wants progress.”
Kobani also linked reconciliation to economic and environmental restoration in the region, noting that unresolved divisions continue to hinder collective action on issues like the Ogoni cleanup and discussions around possible oil resumption.
“The Ogoni Bill of Rights is still valid,” he stressed. “We must face our realities and work together to rebuild Ogoni. Only peace and unity can bring development and justice for our people.”
The families of the Ogoni 4 have vowed to continue their push for justice and closure while urging all sides to stop politicising the tragedy.
“We have forgiven, but we cannot forget,” Kobani said. “Let those who truly love Ogoni join us to bring this painful chapter to a close.”
In a statement read by Dr. Chris Barigbon, Secretary of the Gokana Unity Forum, the group appealed to the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, to honour the 2001 Oputa Panel agreement by releasing the remains of the Ogoni 4 to their families for proper burial.
“MOSOP’s deviance to wise counsel is suggestive of utter disregard for genuine peace and reconciliation,” Barigbon said. “Their plan to lay wreaths on empty graves amounts to the second and third murder of the martyrs.”
The group commended President Bola Tinubu for granting presidential pardon to the Ogoni 9 earlier this year and for posthumously honouring the Ogoni 4 with the national award of Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON.
“The President has shown commitment to reconciliation and development in Ogoniland,” the statement noted. “But only a genuine closure, built on truth, remorse, and forgiveness, can heal our land.”
Paramount Ruler of Bodo City, HRH King John Bebor Berebon, said the safe return of the martyrs’ remains was vital to cleansing the land and reopening the political and developmental space for Ogoniland.
“Time may heal wounds, but the scars remain,” he said. “Resting our martyrs and cleansing the land will reopen the political gate and re-establish Ogoni’s lost glories. Only then can we move forward as one people.”
