In a significant gesture to recognize the sacrifices of Nigeria’s democratic heroes, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has bestowed posthumous national honours on late Kudirat Abiola, wife of the presumed winner of the 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola. The announcement was made during a joint session of the National Assembly as part of the 2025 Democracy Day celebrations.
President Tinubu, while addressing the lawmakers, emphasized the importance of acknowledging individuals who laid down their lives or endured hardships in the fight for democracy.
“As we mark a twenty-sixth year of unbroken democracy, it is right to honour those who have made sacrifices in the past, braving all the odds and the guns to ensure we have a regime of democracy in our country,” Tinubu said.
He announced the conferment of the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on Kudirat Abiola, describing her as a heroine of the June 12 struggle.
In addition to Abiola, Tinubu conferred posthumous national honours on several other prominent figures, including Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (GCFR), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu (CON)—the electoral umpire during the 1993 elections—Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (CON), Alhaji Balarabe Musa (CFR), and Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti (CON), among others.
Living recipients of national honours included renowned playwright Prof. Wole Soyinka (GCON), veteran journalist Uncle Sam Amuka Pemu (CON), and human rights lawyer Barrister Femi Falana, SAN (CON).
Furthermore, Tinubu extended national recognition to the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other members of the Ogoni Nine, granting them posthumous national honours and announcing plans for a full presidential pardon for their roles in advocating environmental and social justice.
“As part of our healing and nation-building efforts, I shall be exercising my powers under the prerogative of mercy to grant these national heroes a full pardon,” he stated.
The honours, part of the 2025 Democracy Day festivities, reflect a broader national effort to remember the architects of Nigeria’s democratic journey and to inspire a new generation committed to democratic values and justice.
