An international group has called on Nigerians in Diaspora to mobilize for a boycott of remitting dollars back to their home country.

The Washington-based US Nigeria Law Group (USNLG) made the call in a statement it issued on Friday in commemoration of 28 years of the hanging of the Ogoni 9.

The Ogoni 9 were members of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) which was then led by prominent environmental rights activist and author, Ken Saro-wiwa.

Under General Sanni Abacha as Head of State, the top nine members of MOSOP were rounded up, detained and tried by the Justice Ibrahim Auta-led Panel which found them guilty.

On November 10, 1995, Saro-wiwa and the eight other MOSOP activists, namely Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel and John Kpuine, were hanged inside the Port Harcourt prison.

“We honour the memory of the unjustly state-assassinated Ogoni 9 who remain a symbol of an evil state that rapes and kills its aggrieved citizens,” the group said.

28 years after what USNLG described as state murder of the Ogoni 9, the group maintains that nothing has changed from the way the cabal holding Nigeria de 2023 general election and failure of the judiciary to redress the “brazen criminality.”

It further noted that Nigerians were suffering unspeakable hardship as the present administration has devalued the naira by an unprecedented 40 percent and hiked oil price which has induced inflation, whose combined effect has impoverished Nigerian citizens of “80% of the naira’s purchasing power,” while “the political misruling class is preoccupied with primitive acquisition of luxury cars and boats.”

USNLG said its campaign for dollar remittance boycott of Nigeria was mean to “starve the misruling political class of forex for their vexatious conspicuous consumption,” adding that Nigerians at home who are bearing the brunt of bad governance, and even those living abroad, should explore ways of liberating the country from her captors.

The group, In a statement endorsed by its Principal Partner, Emmanuel Ogebe, Esq., recalled that the Abacha regime introduced Diaspora remittances to circumvent sanctions after the killing of the Ogoni 9.

“We recall that the execution of the Ogoni 9 led to sanctions on Nigeria. However the Abacha regime introduced Diaspora Remittances which generated $4.5 Billion thus enabling his looting of equivalent amounts and circumventing sanctions. The Nigerian Diaspora, many of whom were forced abroad by misgovernance, now hold a key to impose sanctions on Nigeria even where western nations have compromised,” USNLG stated.

The statement was titled ”28^th Anniversary of State -Murder of Ken Saro-wiwa & Ogoni Activists: USNLG Demands Diaspora Action & Sanctions on Nigerian Situation.”

Advancing further reasons for the dollar remittance boycott as a sanction against Nigeria, USNLG noted that “the new regime seeks to attract Diaspora dollars despite falsely blaming Diaspora for the naira’s depreciation while denying us the right to vote and failing to meet oil production quota.”

“The misguided actions and policies of the political misruling class causing massive depreciation of the naira has devastated home businesses of Diaspora Nigerians who are unable to recover their investments due to significant foreign exchange losses. In other words, Diaspora Nigerians are continuing victims of the mismanagement of Nigeria despite being abroad,” the group added.

According to the statement, the group has resolved to:

“Endorse the proposed strike of the Nigerian labour Unions and call on all and sundry to peacefully shut down the corrupt system hurting them.

“Encourage Nigerians to brace up for the necessary sacrifices that must be made to free themselves from the Nigerian penal colony while appreciating their courageous effort in the stolen elections.

“Caution political bad actors to desist from actions in forthcoming elections that will ignite the wrath of the populace.”

USNLG, gave several reasons while Nigerians at home and abroad should explore means of making democracy to function properly in the country.

It said: “In commemoration of the unconstitutional state-murder of the Ogoni 9 minority rights activists on November 10, 1995, by a kangaroo court of the Gen. Abacha junta, we wish to state as follows:

“In light of the abysmal failure of the Nigerian legal system to appropriately address and redress the brazen criminality, unconstitutionality, violence and perfidy that hijacked the nation under the guise of 2023 elections, it is incumbent on all Nigerians at home and abroad to explore options for a liberation of the nation from its captors.

“In the aftermath of the dubious Supreme Court decision that legitimized state capture by known bad actors, anarchy looms large in Nigeria with intra party violence in Rivers state amongst others.

“Similarly, the week after, Labour leader Ajaero was ambushed, abducted and brutalized by security agents in Imo State alongside several journalists in repressive attacks reminiscent of Abacha’s brutal regime on Frank Kokori and other labour activists in the ‘90s.

“Media reports reveal that the CBN is paying $6.7 Billion of scarce forex to a consortium of banks who are then lending $7 Billion back to the Nigerian government in a manner similar to the Debt-buyback fraud scheme through which Abacha loot the CBN.

“Deeply unpopular and undemocratic judgments continue to thrust unelected persons on the populace, in Plateau state amongst others, leading to protests and disquiet unlike the courageous and epic judgment of Justice Dolapo Akinsanya who ruled against the military’s Interim National Government in the ‘90s.”

The group prayed that ”the labours of our heroes past and present,” shall “Never be in vain!”

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