At exactly 9:30am of 10th November, 1995 about 13 years ago, Ken Saro Wiwa and other 3 Ogoni we forced to climb into a dark Black Maria that was escorted by a police armoured personnel carrier to the Rivers, State police headquarters on Moscow Road where five other Ogoni convicts were being held by the SIIB. Shortly afterwards, the five joined Ken and the Black Maria and the motorcade continued straight to the Port Harcourt prisons on Aggrey Road some meters away from Ken’s office of 24 Aggrey Road.
Not sooner than the motorcade arrived at the prison gate, the Black Maria stopped and reversed back to the prison entrance. There its back door was swung open and the inmates led by Ken stepped outside. They walked slowly because of shackles and handcuffs in single file into the condemned convicts cells that were clearly marked above the door way with the letters “CC’ -meaning condemned convicts. In the hallway was a long wooden bench where they were told to sit and wait for further instruction. Up till this point Ken and his kinsmen had no clue that they were minutes aw y from lynching. But unknown to Ken and the rest Ogoni their hangmen were only waiting for Col. Dauda Musa Komo, the then Military Administrator of Rivers State Komo, Tell reports had come to personally supervise the killings and to ascertain that it was Ken Saro Wiwa and no switch that was hang that day.
A soon as the junta of Dictator General Sani Abacha ratified the sentence on Wednesday, 8 of Nov. 1995, Komo, who was also in the meeting including Gen. Jerry Useni who now waging his mouth left, right and centre jumping up and down demanding a gold medal from Ogoni and Niger Delta for killing their son was given 24hour within which to execute Ken and Co. The State government had no gallows, so a make shift gallows had to be constructed by the hangmen Indeed, the city of Port Harcourt had not had a hanging since the birth of Nigeria in 1960 .
Komo had to delay the execution by 48 hours for the make-shift gallows to be constructed. Komo quickly sent the hangmen who had just arrived from the North to gain custody of Ken Sam Wiwa and Co. To this end the hangmem communicated same to the prison officials who had earlier told the hangmen that the convicts could not be brought to them for want of death warrant.
The hangmen had to tell Komo of this development and Komo promptly rustled up a warrant which was rejected by the prison officials far incomplete to signatories. Embarrassed by this, Komo contacted Abacha in Abuja who issued a brand new warrant signed by Abacha and flowned into Port Harcourt. A Federal Government camera man also accompanied the warrant in the plane to cover, the event of the execution and bring back the video to show proof that Ken was properly executed.
Having settled all these, from behind a close door, some one echoed the name of Ken Saro-Wiwa, He walked in innocently only to behold a priest standing with a Bible in his right hand. This now signaled to Ken that his slaughter was some minutes to come Great Saro-Wnta stood speechless as they removed his shackles leaving him with the handcuff. A sheriff and guards were there. And next to them were the hangmen and the gallows. Hanging from the upright flame was a crossbeam from which a noose was suspended.
The priest stepped closer and prayed for the repose of his soul to the bosom of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Ken was asked to make a final request. He said he wished to see his wife, Hauwa, but he was refused. Ken further asked to see his father to hand over his loge black leather wallet and his pipe to him but like before hew refused.
He was now asked to enter whatsoever he had into a ledger, to be handed to his family member at a later date, Having no other option he now made his final inscription, Then he stepped back to the gallows on a false floor ‘The hangmen stepped behind him and the sheriff, the agent of Abacha stepped in front with a signed death warrant which he read out to the hearing of everyone his crime, his trial and conviction and added that his appeal had been rejected and so he was to be hanged. But Ken remained stoic, he did not quake and did not show any emotion but looked straight and defiantly at the sheriff. The hangmen quickly blindfolded him with a black hood over his head. Like cattle to the slaughter, he was seized and dropped on the false floor to tighten the noose around his neck. Now, the hangman started his work on the pulley which was connected to the gallows. He jerked the pulley but it failed. The hangman tried this several times but the gallows did not work and then blamed the failure on what he called faulty setup. This was shocking. They have earlier test run the equipment in mock hanging of dummies filled with sand of comparable weights. At these mock exercises the equipment had worked effectively.
Barr. Gideon Kpoobari Girigiri
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