In its reaction to the granting of pardon by Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to 175 Nigerians who had committed various offences in the country, the apex socio-cultural organization of the Ijaw Nation worldwide, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), has called for "substantive justice" for the Ijaws and the Niger Delta people.

The INC's demands are contained in a press statement issued by the apex Ijaw body and that was signed by its President, Professor Benjamin Ogele Okaba, on Monday, October 13, 2025.

According to the INC President, while the apex body "respectfully acknowledge the constitutional right of the President" to grant clemency and it is "not oblivious of the serious moral issues and questions raised by other critical stakeholders within and outside the country," it however stated that it views the act "with profound skepticism" as such action "does little to address the deep-seated, systemic, and ongoing injustices perpetrated against the Ijaw people and the wider Niger Delta region."

According to the INC, its critical reason for its position is anchored on the failure of the federal government to address the core issues ravaging the oil-producing region such as ongoing environmental devastation, economic asphyxiation, and ecological genocide.

He said, "The Pardon of the Ogoni Nine: A Welcome but Incomplete Act. The posthumous pardon granted to Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight other Ogoni leaders is a long-overdue acknowledgement of the grave judicial murder committed by the Nigerian state in 1995. However, this symbolic act remains tragically disconnected from the living realities in Ogoniland and the entire Niger Delta. The environmental devastation, economic marginalization, and political repression that Ken Saro-Wiwa died fighting against continue unabated today. Pardoning the dead without healing the land and empowering the living is a hollow victory.

"A Distraction from Core Issues of Resource Justice. The Ijaw nation remains the primary source of the oil and gas wealth that sustains Nigeria. Yet, we remain in the perpetual periphery of benefit, suffering from what can only be described as "economic asphyxiation". The legal architecture of dispossession, from the Petroleum Decree of 1969 to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021, remains firmly in place, systematically expropriating our resources and severing our sovereignty. A presidential pardon that does not restore our dignity and right to control and manage our God-given resources is no use to us.

"The Unaddressed Ecological Genocide. While the President offers pardons, the Ijaw homeland continues to endure an ecological collapse orchestrated by decades of oil exploration. With thousands of recorded oil spills and continuous gas flaring that poisons our air and water, our ecosystem—the bedrock of our livelihood and cultural heritage—is being systematically destroyed. We do not need paternalistic gestures of mercy; we demand environmental justice, ecological restoration, and accountability from multinational corporations and the Nigerian state."

In its demands, the INC called on the Federal Government and the international community to initiate a genuine process of resource control and fiscal federalism, a comprehensive and urgent environmental remediation, to repeal the Land Use Act and other obnoxious laws, to address the disparity between governance of the oil and gas sector and the solid minerals, and to address the historical and political grievances of the Ijaw people.

"The Ijaw National Congress, therefore, reiterates that our struggle is not for symbolic pardons but for substantive justice. We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the international community to:

"Initiate a genuine process of resource control and fiscal federalism that allows the Ijaw people to own and manage their resources as a right enshrined in natural justice and international law.

"Enforce a comprehensive and urgent environmental remediation program in the Niger Delta, in line with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on Ogoniland and beyond.

"Repeal obnoxious laws like the Land Use Act and review constitutional provisions that perpetuate internal colonialism and "legalized oppression".

"Address the disparity between the governance of the oil and gas sector, as contained in PIA 2021 and the solid minerals governance by the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007. This discrimination is designed to militarise, plunder and marginalise the Niger Delta, while affording a more equitable regime for solid mineral resources.

"Address the historical and political grievances of the Ijaw people, including the brazen political assaults on Ijaw sons and daughters, as witnessed in the recent illegal impeachment attempts against Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State."

Okaba further stated the rights of the Ijaw people to "self-determination is inalienable" which it shall "continue to pursue.. through peaceful, diplomatic, and strategic means," while it stands firm "to champion the dignity, justice, and sovereignty of the Ijaw people", vowing that it "will not relent until our people are free from the shackles of oppression and can truly determine their own political and economic destiny."

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