President Bola Tinubu has conferred national honours on four late Ogoni leaders killed during the 1994 crisis in Rivers State, describing them as heroes whose sacrifices must be remembered.
Those honoured with the title of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) are Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Albert Badey, Chief Samuel Orage, and Chief Theophilus Orage.
The announcement was made on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, when Tinubu received the report of the Ogoni Consultations Committee. The President said the gesture was aimed at healing wounds and reinforcing the government’s commitment to peace, justice, and reconciliation in Ogoniland.
“These men paid the ultimate price in a troubled period of our nation’s history. By honouring them, we acknowledge their memory, affirm their dignity, and recommit ourselves to building a just and united Nigeria,” Tinubu said.
The four leaders, popularly referred to as the “Ogoni Four,” were killed in Giokoo community, Gokana Local Government Area, in 1994 amid deep divisions within the Ogoni movement. Their deaths, alongside the later execution of the “Ogoni Nine” led by Ken Saro-Wiwa, remain flashpoints in the struggle for environmental justice in the Niger Delta.
Tinubu used the occasion to promise renewed efforts on the environmental cleanup of Ogoniland, economic revitalisation, and sustainable peace in the Niger Delta. He also directed the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to coordinate measures that would ensure lasting stability in the oil-rich region.
The President further noted that the government would engage stakeholders to create conditions for the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland, stressing that such a move must be built on dialogue and community consent.
The posthumous recognition comes 31 years after the killings, which drew global condemnation and intensified calls for accountability in Nigeria’s handling of the Ogoni struggle.
