- Wole Soyinka Tasks Tinubu To End Killings, Casual Butchery
- Nobel Laureate condemns public silence over extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses.
- Soyinka calls for justice and accountability for victims of state violence.
Nigerian Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has urged President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action to end killings and bloodshed allegedly carried out by state actors.
Soyinka made the call at the 28th Wole Soyinka Lectures held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with the theme, “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage.”
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that+
The Nobel Laureate said the failure of citizens to speak out against excesses by state actors had contributed to continued human rights abuses and violations.
He also criticised what he described as the silence of residents, saying such inaction had worsened the situation.
Soyinka said the lecture was an opportunity to honour victims who had lost their lives as a result of deficiencies within the state, which he said had contributed to the devaluation of human life.
He dedicated his 2026 public lecture to victims of extrajudicial killings and alleged state excesses across Nigeria.
Soyinka said the country’s greatest failure was not only the killings but also the collective silence that allowed those responsible to escape accountability.
He said, “Today is dedicated to the 18 Ughelli residents butchered by state agencies for no reason at all, simply for minding their own business; to the young man shot dead in broad daylight by a policeman while under suspicion; and to Deborah, the youth hunted through the city by her own classmates, necklaced and set ablaze.
“The crime is the silence of the rest of us, that such a thing is possible and that the killers of that girl can actually go on television, hold up a match and say, ‘This is the match with which I set her on fire.’ And there the system of justice fails us completely.”
Soyinka dismissed critics who accused him of fuelling religious tensions whenever he raised cases involving alleged abuses.
He said gatherings such as the lecture in Port Harcourt were important because they reminded Nigerians that the individual remained the least common denominator and the most important element of society.
The Nobel Laureate urged citizens to continue monitoring the case involving the policeman who allegedly shot a young man in southern Nigeria.
He also called on Nigerians to demand justice and ensure that the legal system does not fail the victims once again.
