The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation and the family of late Ogoni environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, have firmly denied claims of any reconciliation with Shell Petroleum Development Company, now operating under the name Renaissance.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt, Dr. Owens Wiwa described recent reports suggesting renewed collaboration as fake news, insisting that no discussions or agreements had taken place.
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According to the statement, a tree-planting event that circulated widely online was staged without the knowledge or authorisation of the Foundation or the Saro-Wiwa family.
Owens Wiwa said Zina Saro-Wiwa was misled into attending the ceremony, which he described as a charade orchestrated by an individual who has since been dismissed. The Foundation added that the symbolic trees planted during the event had already been uprooted.
Reiterating their long-standing position, the family stressed that Shell, now Renaissance, remains persona non grata in Ogoniland.
They argued that genuine engagement cannot begin until the company fully cleans up the environmental damage in the region and is held accountable for past human rights violations, including the military-led repression in the 1990s.
While acknowledging efforts by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to restore polluted sites, the Foundation insisted that true reconciliation requires political restructuring. They called on the Federal Government to begin discussions on the creation of a Bori State to guarantee Ogoni autonomy and ensure local control over resources.
“The Nigerian State owes the Ogoni people a pathway to autonomy. No staged photograph or deceitful narrative will sway Ogonis from demanding justice,” the Foundation declared.
