Human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore has issued a strong warning to President Bola Tinubu, saying he will take legal action if the government includes his name on any national honours list.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate under the African Action Congress (AAC) and the founder of the #RevolutionNow movement, made the statement on Friday using his social media platforms. He said that being named in such a list by Tinubu would not only be unwanted but also considered defamatory in his view.
“If I were mistakenly included by Tinubu on his ‘National Award’ list, I would not only reject and denounce the award but also take definitive legal action for defamation,” Sowore wrote.
This comes shortly after the Presidency publicly apologised for an error in President Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech, where two living Nigerians—Pa Reuben Fasoranti and Dr. Edwin Madunagu—were wrongly listed among recipients of posthumous national honours. The speech was delivered at the National Assembly on June 12.
The posthumous awards given out during the Democracy Day event included names like Kudirat Abiola, who was honoured with the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) title for her contribution to the struggle for the validation of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
Others on the list included Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (GCFR), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu (CON), Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (CON), and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa (CON), alongside his fellow Ogoni Nine. All were granted full presidential pardons.
Sowore, who has long been a critic of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Tinubu, has made it clear that he wants no association with the government.
He has frequently accused the Tinubu administration of corruption, human rights violations, and poor leadership. He notes that accepting an honour from such a government would go against everything he stands for.
