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Soyinka Advises Tinubu to Probe Unresolved Killings
Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately launch a probe into the strange circumstances that led to the deaths of some Nigerians, including the likes of Dele Giwa, Bola Ige and Kudirat Abiola, for the sake of giving some closure to the matter.
While speaking with selected journalists in Lagos on Saturday, the renowned author said some Nigerians around the world have and could provide clues to the killings.
Soyinka has been speaking on the occasion of Nigeria’s Democracy Day, which was marked on June 12, 2025, where President Tinubu addressed the joint session of the National Assembly and awarded national honours to some of the heroes of the struggle.
While he praised the national honours, he said there were several omissions of heroes on the list, adding that he believed the honoured participants were a representation of the rest of the people in the struggle.
Soyinka revealed that he will be dedicating his honours to the memory of Late Beko Ransom-Kuti, who he described as a defender of human rights, champion of good governance, and campaigner for democracy, who was detained and jailed several times by the Nigerian military.
He warned that no one should make light of the weight and importance of the June 12 struggle, as many people died, and many others were greatly injured by the military junta, which killed, tortured, and imprisoned Nigerians at the time.
Soyinka’s plea comes after the presidency on Saturday denied it awarded national honours to human rights activist Aisha Yesufu and 35 others.
Names of the heroes of democracy were announced by President Tinubu on Thursday, June 13, as part of the activities marking the 2025 Democracy Day celebration. Only 66 awardees were announced at the joint sitting of the National Assembly in Abuja.
Among the posthumous awardees were a former Chief of Staff, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua; a former NEC Chairman who oversaw the 1993 elections, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu; and the wife of MKO Abiola and martyr of the June 12 struggle, Kudirat Abiola.
The President also granted a posthumous state pardon to renowned environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and the rest of the Ogoni Nine, three decades after their controversial execution by the Sani Abacha-led military regime.
The nine other activists were also acknowledged for their sacrifices in the struggle for environmental justice and democratic ideals in Nigeria.
“I shall also be exercising my powers under the prerogative of mercy to grant these national heroes a full pardon, together with others whose names shall be announced later in conjunction with the National Council of State,” he said.
Each of the eight was conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger, OON, while Ken Saro-Wiwa was awarded the Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON.
This marks the first time a Nigerian President has officially acknowledged the role of the Ogoni Nine in the national democratic journey and taken steps toward state-led rehabilitation of their legacy.
The Ogoni Nine were prominent members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), which campaigned against environmental degradation in the Niger Delta caused by oil exploration. Their execution drew global outrage, including Nigeria’s temporary suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1995.
Those honoured alongside Saro-Wiwa include Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine, all executed in 1995 after a military tribunal found them guilty in a trial widely condemned by international human rights groups as flawed and politically motivated.
Source: Channels TV
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
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Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
