Stakeholders Call For Inclusion of Colonel  Bello Fadile In Tinubu’s Democracy Day Honours List

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Questions have been raised over the omission of retired Colonel Bello Fadile from the list of military officers honoured by President Bola Tinubu during his Democracy Day broadcast on Friday.

President Tinubu announced national honours for several pro-democracy activists, journalists, politicians, and military officers who played key roles in the struggle to validate the June 12, 1993, presidential election. Among the military officers named were Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and Col Olusegun Oloruntoba, the Olugbede of Gbede Kingdom.

Reacting to the announcement, concerned citizens and pro-democracy advocates, Chief Olugbemi Femi, argued that Col Bello Fadile (rtd), the first military lawyer with a PhD then, deserves inclusion on the same list. They noted that Fadile was Accused No.1 in the 1995 alleged coup plot under the Abacha regime, was sentenced to death and later to life imprisonment, before receiving a state pardon in 1999.

The statement said: “Since Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd) is on the list with Col Olusegun Oloruntoba, the Olugbede of Gbede, then Col Bello Fadile (rtd) should be included, being one of the major military officers that fought for democracy, which was why he was sentenced along with other military officers whose names are on the list.”

The group urged the President to correct the omission, stating that doing so would encourage others committed to defending democracy in Nigeria. “Let the President correct the erroneous error to encourage others determined to fight for the overall success of democracy in Nigeria,” the statement added.

Col Bello Fadile, a retired Army officer and human rights lawyer, documented his experience in Nine Lives: The Bello Fadile Memoirs. During his Democracy Day address, President Tinubu noted that the conferment of national honours was “not foreclosed”, indicating that future updates to the list remain possible.