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As Nigeria marks 25 years of uninterrupted democratic rule, President Bola Tinubu has conferred national honours on over 60 individuals who have played significant roles in the country’s democratic journey.
During his Democracy Day address at the joint sitting of the National Assembly on Wednesday, June 12, 2025, President Tinubu honoured both living legends and fallen heroes of Nigeria’s struggle for democracy.
Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka was awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), the second-highest national honour in the country. Also honoured was fiery Catholic Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah (CON), a vocal advocate for justice and good governance.
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Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN (CON), well-known to many as the father of rapper Falz, was also recognised for his decades-long activism and legal advocacy.
In a surprising turn, Tinubu announced a posthumous national honour for Ken Saro-Wiwa (CON) and the eight other members of the Ogoni 9 who were executed by the Abacha regime in 1995 after agitating for environmental justice in the Niger Delta.
The president also granted them a posthumous state pardon, a symbolic but significant move in Nigeria’s long battle with political injustice.
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Kudirat Abiola, the late wife of MKO Abiola and heroine of the June 12 struggle, was also honoured with a posthumous Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).
In a more formal segment of the event, President Tinubu officially decorated the four top officers of the 10th National Assembly with the national honours they were awarded in 2023—Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas received GCON; Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu were decorated with CFR.