President Bola Tinubu has conferred the prestigious Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) on retired Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, recognizing his pivotal contribution to the June 12 pro-democracy movement.
The announcement was made on Wednesday during the inauguration of a 300-bed hospital and vocational training institute in Kaduna State.
Colonel Umar, celebrated as a “soldier of democracy,” had been conspicuously absent from the list of honorees on Democracy Day. Acknowledging this, President Tinubu issued a public apology, commending Umar for his unwavering commitment to justice and democratic principles during a critical moment in Nigeria’s history.
“Today, let me use this opportunity to correct an omission. Some of those people that I missed during the June 12 broadcast in the National Assembly is Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar. Today, let me correct that by honouring with National recognition of CFR,” the President said during his speech at the commissioning.
Umar, a former military governor of Kaduna State, is renowned for his courageous opposition to the annulment of the 1993 presidential election and his steadfast advocacy for democratic governance in Nigeria.
June 12 Honours
During his June 12 address to a joint session of the National Assembly commemorating Nigeria’s 26th Democracy Day, President Bola Tinubu conferred national honours on several distinguished Nigerians and champions of democracy.
Among the honorees were Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka (GCON), Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Matthew Kukah (CON), human rights lawyer Femi Falana (CON), and the late Kudirat Abiola, who was posthumously awarded the CFR for her pivotal role in the June 12 movement.
Other recipients included veteran journalist Sam Amuka-Pemu, members of the defunct Ogoni Nine led by Ken Saro-Wiwa, and former NEC Chairman Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, who received a posthumous award despite a previously rejected Senate motion to immortalize him.
The Presidency also dismissed a circulating list of unauthorized names, including activist Aisha Yesufu, as “fake news,” clarifying that only the names announced by the President during his official address were legitimate.