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Claim: A Facebook Page, Agozi Comedy, claims that President Tinubu conferred national honours on Aisha Yesufu, Innocent Chukwuma, Tunde Bakare, Nuhu Ribadu, and others in an additional honours list.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA fact-checked the claim and found no evidence that these names appeared on the official national honours list released by the presidency. The presidency did not release additional honour lists outside the one released on Democracy Day.
Full Text
On June 12, 2025, Nigeria marked Democracy Day, a national celebration recognising the country’s democratic progress. President Bola Tinubu conferred national honours on over 60 individuals as part of the activities commemorating the day. These awards recognised both living and posthumous recipients who contributed significantly to Nigeria’s democratic development.
The national honours included some of the highest-ranking awards, such as:
- Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON)
- Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON)
- Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON)
- Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR)
President Tinubu announced the honours during his 2025 Democracy Day Address to a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
However, on June 13, 2025, a Facebook page, Agozi Comedy, posted a claim stating that the president had released an additional list of honorees. According to the post, names like activist Aisha Yesufu, Innoson CEO, Innocent Chukwuma, Pastor Tunde Bakare, and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu were added in a supposed “expanded list” of award recipients.
“BREAKING: President Tinubu confers National Honours on Aisha Yesufu, Innoson CEO, Innocent Chukwuma, Pastor Tunde Bakare, NSA Nuhu Ribadu and other Nigerians in an additional list,” the post reads.
As of June 14, 2025, the viral post had garnered 135 comments and 12 shares, with a mix of reactions from users.
One user, Paul Ndika, commented, “Hmmm, our president is wonderful. He knows how to attract people using this formula.”
Another user, Timothy Daniel, wrote, “The smartest president Nigeria has ever produced.”
Meanwhile, Georgina Clara expressed scepticism, stating, “It looks like a rumour but sounds like fact. All these people mentioned are major enemies of Nigerian youths, yet they claim to be fighting for a better Nigeria. The real generation to rebuild this nation is yet to be revealed—they are arriving day by day.”
DUBAWA decided to fact-check because the claim is a topic of discourse and undermines trust in official government communications.
Verification
DUBAWA investigated the claim by thoroughly reviewing the official list of awardees released by the presidency. Our findings confirmed that none of the individuals named in the viral Facebook post, including Aisha Yesufu, Innocent Chukwuma, Omoyele Sowore, Tunde Bakare, and Nuhu Ribadu, were listed among the 2025 national honours recipients.
One of the individuals named in the widely circulated but unofficial list of national honours, Omoyele Sowore, has publicly stated that he would take legal action against the presidency if his name is mistakenly included among those to be awarded.
The presidency has officially denied issuing a viral list of national honours that included human rights activist Aisha Yesufu and 35 others. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, dismissed the list as fake. In his words, “The story on a viral list of national honours featuring the name of Aisha Yesufu and others credited to the Leadership newspaper is fake news. It should be ignored. The Presidency has not issued fresh names for national honour different from the ones in President Tinubu’s address to the joint sitting of the National Assembly yesterday.”
DUBAWA fact-checked the publication in question by Leadership Newspaper and, while Aisha Yesufu’s name was not found in it, over 30 other names were listed that do not appear on the official list released by the presidency.
These names include prominent figures such as Ghali Na’Abba, Salisu Buhari, Umaru Dikko, Uche Chukwumerije, Innocent Chukwuma, Tony Nnadi, Olisa Agbakoba, Nuhu Ribadu, Hafsat Abiola-Costello, and Tunde Bakare. Others include Kabiru Yusuf, Clement Nwankwo, Chief Frank Kokori, Daniel Gboko, Emma Ezeazu, Ibijoke Faborode, Seun Onigbinde, Samson Itodo, Ezenwa Nwagwu, Kemi Okenyodo, Akin Akingbulu, Raymond Duke Tenebe, Oby Nwankwo, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, Ndidi Nwuneli, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Y.Z. Ya’u, Issa Aremu, Hamzat Lawal, and activists Jaiye and Jaye Gaskia (likely a duplication).
The only extra clarification from the presidency was the conferment of national posthumous honours on Pa Reuben Fasoranti, leader of Afenifere, who received the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), and Dr. Edwin Madunagu, a renowned professor of botany and veteran activist who is still alive.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, acknowledged that some errors in the categorisation of awards may have occurred, attributing them to oversight, but did not mention new recipients being added after the official list was published.
Conclusion
The presidency did not release an official “expanded list” confirming these names. Therefore, the viral post is false.
