Soyinka expressed concerns over several notable omissions on the honours list. 

Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately initiate a probe into the strange circumstances surrounding the deaths of notable Nigerians, including Dele Giwa, Chief Bola Ige, and Kudirat Abiola.

Speaking with selected journalists in Lagos on Saturday, Soyinka said some Nigerians across the world have and could provide vital clues that may help unravel the mystery behind the killings.

“I believe the honoured participants were a representation of the rest of the people in the struggle,” Soyinka said, while reflecting on Nigeria’s Democracy Day, which was marked on 12 June 2025. 

Soyinka expressed concerns over several notable omissions on the honours list. 

He said although the gesture was commendable, not all key actors in the fight for democracy were acknowledged. 

Soyinka revealed that he would be dedicating his own honour to the memory of the late Dr Beko Ransom-Kuti. 

He described Ransom-Kuti as “a defender of human rights, champion of good governance, and campaigner for democracy, who was detained and jailed several times by the Nigerian military.”  

The Nobel Laureate also described former Head head of state, Ibrahim Babangida as “a general without an army.” 

He said, “We know of a certain move which he made. We know those who visited him at the time, those who added their weight to the annulment, both within the military and the civil. We know the royal fathers who went to visit and said on no account will they accept the implementation of that election.

“We know all of that. It’s not me who should write it. It’s he. He owes it to the nation,” Soyinka maintained.

He warned that the significance of the June 12 struggle should not be trivialised, noting that many people paid the ultimate price, while several others suffered serious injuries and abuses under the military regimes of that era.

“No one should make light of the weight and importance of the June 12 struggle, as many people died, and many others were greatly injured by the military junta, which killed, tortured and imprisoned Nigerians at the time,” he said.

Soyinka’s remarks came just as the presidency denied conferring national honours on human rights activist Aisha Yesufu and 35 others. The denial was issued on Saturday following widespread speculation and criticism over the selection of honourees.

President Tinubu had earlier released the names of 66 awardees as part of the events marking the 2025 Democracy Day. 

The announcement was made during a joint sitting of the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday, 13 June.

Among those honoured posthumously were former Chief of Staff, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua; Professor Humphrey Nwosu, who oversaw the 1993 presidential election; and Kudirat Abiola, the wife of MKO Abiola and a martyr of the June 12 struggle.

In a historic move, President Tinubu also granted a posthumous state pardon to environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight other members of the Ogoni Nine, almost three decades after their execution by the military regime of General Sani Abacha.

“I also confer posthumous national honours on Ken Saro-Wiwa (CON), the leader of the Ogoni Nine and his fellow travellers,” Tinubu announced during his address to the National Assembly.