President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday posthumously conferred the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on four late Ogoni leaders, decades after their execution during the military era.
The recipients, Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage, are collectively remembered as the Ogoni Four. Their recognition comes months after the President honoured Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists killed under the Abacha regime.
The announcement was made at the State House, Abuja, during the presentation of the report of the Ogoni Consultations Committee, chaired by Professor Don Baridam. Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara led the Ogoni delegation to the ceremony, according to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Tinubu directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to commence immediate engagements with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Ogoni communities, and other stakeholders to finalise modalities for the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland.
“We are not, as a government, taking lightly the years of pain endured in Ogoniland,” Tinubu said. “The Federal Government truly acknowledges the long suffering of the Ogoni people, and today we declare with conviction that hope is here and back with us.”
The President stressed that reconciliation was not an erasure of history but a commitment to building a new chapter of peace and development. He urged Ogoni communities to unite and embrace dialogue, assuring that government resources would be deployed to achieve shared prosperity.
Governor Fubara commended the President for measures that had already fostered confidence, including progress on the East-West Road and the establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology.
Ribadu, in his remarks, explained that early confidence-building steps approved by the President had enabled stakeholders to put aside differences and engage in constructive dialogue. He noted that all parties had now expressed readiness for oil production to resume on the principles of fairness, equity, and environmental responsibility, alongside a repositioned Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
Committee chairman Baridam praised Tinubu for his “unwavering commitment” to the Ogoni cause, noting that the inclusive consultation process had restored trust and rekindled hope among the people.
The Federal Government has pledged to integrate environmental remediation, community benefits, and equity participation into the planned oil production framework in Ogoniland.
