Centre For Social Justice & Environmental Rights Protection

PRESS RELEASE

Centre for Social Justice and Environmental Rights Protections (CESJERP)

Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
March 7, 2026

Theme: Non-Inclusive HYPREP Cleanup, Unfunded FUET, and Neglect of Primary Education – Eroding Federal Confidence-Building Measures in Ogoniland

Good morning, members of the press, Ogoni leaders, and stakeholders.

CESJERP condemns the ongoing failures in the Federal Government's confidence-building efforts in Ogoniland, which continue to deepen distrust and injustice.

1. Non-Inclusive HYPREP Cleanup
HYPREP excludes numerous Ogoni communities hosting legacy Shell facilities (wellheads, pipelines, flow stations). These areas face persistent pollution risks from undecommissioned infrastructure, yet remain outside active remediation phases, leading to selective progress, re-contamination, and marginalization.

2. Non-Funding of Federal University of Environmental Technology (FUET)
FUET, established in Saakpenwa, Tai LGA (February 2025), remains unfunded despite presidential directives. No take-off grants, renovations, or operational support have been provided, stalling progress while other federal universities receive funding. This breach fuels Ogoni youth frustration and threats of protest.

3. Neglect of Primary Education – The Bedrock of Development
Most Ogoni communities lack functional primary schools: dilapidated buildings, teacher shortages, and out-of-school children prevail. This foundational crisis undermines health, skills, and long-term empowerment, rendering higher-education promises hollow, further compounding social inequities.

4. Compounding these contemporary challenges is the unresolved historical injustice against Ogoni heroes: the ex*****on by hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight other Ogoni leaders (the Ogoni Nine) on November 10, 1995, following a flawed military tribunal trial widely regarded as a kangaroo court designed to silence environmental and human rights advocacy.
While a posthumous pardon was issued in June 2025 by President Bola Tinubu, accompanied by national honors. CESJERP aligns with Ogoni activists, Amnesty International, and other stakeholders in asserting that a pardon falls far short of justice. It perpetuates the implication of guilt for men who committed no crime.

These failures; selective cleanup, stalled FUET, and abandoned primary education, severely erode confidence in Federal Government confidence-building measures.

CESJERP Demands:

1. Expand HYPREP immediately to include all Ogoni communities with legacy Shell facilities, through transparent, community-led mapping and remediation.

2. Release full funding and take-off support for FUET without further delay, as directed by the President.

3. Prioritize urgent investment in primary education infrastructure, teachers, and materials across Ogoniland.

4. Conduct independent audits of HYPREP and related initiatives, ensuring genuine Ogoni inclusion and accountability.

5. Full exoneration of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine: a formal declaration of their innocence, complete clearance of their names, and official recognition of the trial as a grave miscarriage of justice. This step is essential to heal lingering wounds, rebuild federal credibility, and align with true confidence-building in post-oil devastation Ogoniland.

No clean-up, no funding, no education, no trust. We demand swift action. CESJERP stands with the Ogoni people.

Thank you.

Wisdom Kagbara
Director
Centre for Social Justice and Environmental Rights Protections (CESJERP)
Port Harcourt, Rivers State