President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the release and clemency of 175 convicts and ex-convicts across Nigeria, including posthumous pardons for notable figures such as Ken Saro-Wiwa, Sir Herbert Macaulay, and Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa.
The decision followed the presentation of the report by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), during the Council of State meeting held on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the report, the President granted:
- Full pardon to two inmates and 15 former convicts (11 of them deceased);
- Clemency to 82 inmates;
- Commutation of sentences for 65 prisoners; and
- Conversion of seven death sentences to life imprisonment.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the beneficiaries were selected based on remorse, good conduct, age, health condition, and proof of rehabilitation, including enrolment in vocational programmes and the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
Prominent among those granted clemency are Hon. Farouk Lawan, convicted for corrupt practices in 2021; Barrister Hussaini Alhaji Umar, convicted in 2023; and Dr. Nwogu Peters, who served part of a 17-year sentence for fraud.
Also included is Maryam Sanda, convicted in 2020 for the murder of her husband. Her pardon followed a plea from her family, citing her repentance, discipline, and active participation in prison reform programmes.
In a historic move, President Tinubu posthumously exonerated early nationalist Sir Herbert Macaulay, convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913, describing the gesture as a correction of a “historic injustice.”
He also extended posthumous pardons to Major General Mamman Vatsa, executed in 1986 over an alleged coup plot, and the Ogoni Nine, including environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, executed in 1995. Their victims—Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobaru, Chief Samuel Orage, and Chief Theophilus Orage—were also formally honoured.
Additionally, seven inmates on death row had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment, including Emmanuel Baba and Moses Ayodele Olorunfemi, both convicted of homicide.
Attorney-General Fagbemi said the move demonstrates the Tinubu administration’s commitment to justice reform, fairness, and rehabilitation within the correctional system.
He also disclosed that Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis had undertaken to supervise the rehabilitation and empowerment of illegal miners who benefited from the presidential clemency.
According to Onanuga, the President’s decision reflects his belief in restorative justice and the reintegration of reformed citizens into society.
