Former Aviation Minister, Fani-Kayode, has commended Iran for standing up against Israel through the firing of several ballistic missiles, saying it was just the beginning.

He made the remarks in a statement in response to the current war between the two countries which was started by Israel which on Friday, killed several top Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists in what it called Operation Rising Lion.

However, in a post on X on Friday, the ex-minister claimed that the Iranians were lured into a false sense of security by the United States while Israel was preparing for war.

Fani-Kayode said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran has finally hit back and struck the Jewish state with missiles and drones. This was inevitable and it is just the beginning.

“The attack on Iran by Israel was not only unprovoked but is also a condemnable violation of international law. It is indeed a declaration of war.

“The Isrealis have not only targeted and bombed key Iranian infrastructures but they have also killed Iranian civilians, including women and children, and key Iranian military and civilian leaders and nuclear scientists.

“Israel has attacked Gaza, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and now Iran in the last one year.

“The attack on Iran was carried out whilst the Iranians were still in negotiations with the Americans. Simply put, the Iranians were lured into a false sense of security by the Americans whilst Isreal was preparing for war. This makes Americans complicit in this attack despite their denials.

“To those nations that say Israel felt sufficiently threatened by Iran and has a right to self-defence, I ask the following question: does Iran not have the same right after being attacked? Are the Iranians not entitled to defend themselves, too?

“Iran MUST and WILL retaliate and they will do so in a dramatic fashion. The retaliatory attack that Iran launched this evening is just the beginning and by the time this is all over there may be no Zionist state left.

“Worse still, the conflict could escalate beyond the Middle East. Those who bend the knee to the Isreali thugs and bullies and who believe that might is always right are nothing but cowards who fail to appreciate the fact that the beast that they are applauding will eventually turn on them, the former minister stated.

Former River State governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Barrister Nyeson Wike, on Saturday, led some former governors of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to President Bola Tinubu on courtesy visit.

Those who went with Wike were his close political associates also known as G-5 made up of a faction of the PDP during the 2023 general election.

The G5 governors, led by Wike, then the outgoing governor of Rivers State, worked against the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and supported Tinubu, who was then the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress at the 2023 poll.

Present at the meeting was a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, and two members of the defunct G5 – former governors of Benue and Abia States, Samuel Ortom and Okezie Ikpeazu, respectively.

Ot is yet to be made public the reason for their visit to Tinubu but may not be unconnected with realignment towards 2027 calculations.

Global literary icon and Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately launch a probe into the strange circumstances that led to the deaths of some Nigerians, including the likes of Dele Giwa, Bola Ige, and Kudirat Abiola, for the sake of giving some closure to the matter.

While speaking with selected journalists in Lagos yesterday, the renowned author said some Nigerians around the world have and could provide clues to the killings.

He spoke on the occasion of Nigeria’s Democracy Day, which was marked on June 12, 2025, where President Tinubu addressed the joint session of the National Assembly and awarded national honours to some of the heroes of the struggle.

While he praised the award of national honours, he, however, said there were several heroes omitted from the list, adding that he believed those honoured were a representation of the rest of the people in the struggle.

Soyinka revealed that he will be dedicating his honours to the memory of the Late Beko Ransom-Kuti, who he described 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.
He warned that 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.

Names of the heroes of democracy were announced by President Tinubu on Thursday, June 13, as part of the activities marking the 2025 Democracy Day celebration. Only 66 awardees were announced at the joint sitting of the National Assembly in Abuja.

Among the posthumous awardees were a former Chief of Staff, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua; a former NEC Chairman who oversaw the 1993 elections, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu; and the wife of MKO Abiola and martyr of the June 12 struggle, Kudirat Abiola.

The president also granted a posthumous state pardon to renowned environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and the rest of the Ogoni Nine, three decades after their controversial execution by the Sani Abacha-led military regime.

The nine other activists were also acknowledged for their sacrifices in the struggle for environmental justice and democratic ideals in Nigeria.