Tinubu Posthumously Honours Ogoni Four, Vows Peace and Development in Niger Delta

Tinubu Posthumously Honours Ogoni Four, Vows Peace and Development in Niger Delta

 

 

Thirty-one years after their deaths, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday conferred posthumous national honours on the late Ogoni leaders—Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage—collectively known as the “Ogoni Four.” Each received the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

 

The announcement was made during the submission of the Ogoni Consultations Committee report at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The four chiefs were lynched in 1994 by an irate mob in Giokoo community, Gokana Local Government Area, Rivers State, amid communal unrest.

 

Speaking at the event, President Tinubu called for reconciliation and unity among the Ogoni people. He urged communities to “close ranks, put this dark chapter behind us, and move forward as a united community with one voice.” He prayed that the legacy of the Ogoni Four would inspire courage, unity, and national purpose.

 

Tinubu directed the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to ensure lasting peace and sustainable development in the Niger Delta. He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to environmental remediation and economic revival in Ogoniland, and confirmed plans to resume oil production in the region.

 

“I am encouraged by the overwhelming consensus of the Ogoni communities to welcome the resumption of oil production. The government will deploy every resource to support your people in this march towards shared prosperity,” he said.

 

The President recalled that in 2022, the previous administration handed operatorship of the Ogoni oil field to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its partners. He directed Ribadu to facilitate discussions between the communities, NNPCL, and other stakeholders to finalise arrangements for restarting operations, while instructing the Minister of Environment to integrate pollution remediation into ongoing dialogue.

 

Ribadu reported that the consultations engaged all four Ogoni zones and the diaspora, reflecting the communities’ demand for structured participation in oil production, accelerated environmental cleanup, and sustainable development. Prof. Don Baridam, chair of the Dialogue Committee, described the report as a blueprint for implementation through an inter-agency task force.

 

Ribadu assured that Tinubu’s directives would be strictly enforced to consolidate peace and address past injustices, stressing that the benefits would extend beyond Ogoniland to the wider Niger Delta.

 

Oil exploration in Ogoniland has been suspended since 1993, following protests over environmental degradation and the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists in 1995.