IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1072 
Urging the Government of Nigeria to conduct a thorough judicial review 
of the Ken Saro-Wiwa case. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 
Ms. MCKINNEY (for herself, Mr. OWENS, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. 
KUCINICH, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Ms. KAPTUR) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Rela-
tions 
RESOLUTION 
Urging the Government of Nigeria to conduct a thorough 
judicial review of the Ken Saro-Wiwa case. 
Whereas, on November 10, 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian 
writer, environmental activist, and nominee for the Nobel 
Peace Prize, along with 8 colleagues, together known as 
the ‘‘Ogoni 9’’, were hanged by the military government 
of Nigeria, based on charges widely regarded as false; 
Whereas the Ogoni 9 had been nonviolently campaigning for 
improved living standards and a clean environment for 
the Ogoni People, whose Niger Delta land, air, and water 
was, and remains, severely polluted from oil extraction, 
and whose standard of living, despite the great mineral 
wealth their land has yielded since the early 1960s, is 
among the lowest in the world; 
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•HRES 1072 IH 
Whereas the international condemnation that followed the 
executions included the suspension of Nigeria from the 
British Commonwealth of Nations; 
Whereas, in 1996, a United Nations mission to Nigeria found 
the military tribunal in contravention of international and 
domestic law, and recommended financial relief for the 
survivors of the Ogoni 9 and improvements in the socio-
economic conditions of the Ogoni and other minorities in 
the Delta; 
Whereas 10 years later, none of the United Nations rec-
ommendations have been implemented, and the environ-
mental and social situations have deteriorated for the 
Ogoni and other Delta communities; 
Whereas the Ogoni 9 remain convicted of a crime of which 
they were unfairly tried; 
Whereas Ogoniland remains severely polluted and gas flaring 
continues unabated; 
Whereas the security and stability in the Niger Delta are 
threatened by a proliferation of small arms, armed gangs, 
and black market oil bunkering; 
Whereas despite these pressures, Ogoniland remains an is-
land of nonviolence, and the Ogoni voted in high numbers 
in the 1999 elections; 
Whereas stability in the Niger Delta is necessary to prevent 
an increase in global oil costs; and 
Whereas in the interest of the protection of human rights, 
justice, and stability in the Delta, redress should be given 
to the Ogonis and their use of nonviolent means should 
be recognized: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 1072 IH 
(1) urges the Government of Nigeria to conduct 
a thorough judicial review of the trial of the Ogoni 
9 and to provide just compensation to the survivors 
of the Ogoni 9 if a miscarriage of justice is found; 
(2) urges the Government of Nigeria, inter-
national donors, and international oil companies op-
erating in the Niger Delta to increase assistance sig-
nificantly to improve the lives of the Ogoni and 
other affected communities and for pollution abate-
ment and cleanup in the Niger Delta region, in close 
consultation with local communities; 
(3) urges the Government of Nigeria to ensure 
that all members of the security forces receive train-
ing in international standards on the use of force 
and firearms, particularly the 1979 United Nations 
Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and 
the 1990 United Nations Basic Principles on the 
Use of Force and Fire Arms by Law Enforcement 
Officials; 
(4) calls upon the Secretary of State to seek ur-
gently to ensure that United States oil companies 
operating in the Niger Delta comply, at a minimum, 
with the Voluntary Principles for Security and 
Human Rights; and 
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•HRES 1072 IH 
(5) urges the Secretary General of the United 
Nations to institute a 10-year followup mission to 
Ogoniland. 
Æ 
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