By Prince Uwalaka Chimaroke
9- THURS- 2025

In a very recent exercise of executive mercy and national reconciliation, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a series of presidential pardons and clemency measures covering 175 individuals, including historical figures, ex-convicts, and inmates across Nigeria’s correctional facilities. The decision, endorsed by the National Council of State during its meeting in Abuja on Thursday, October 9, 2025, marks one of the most comprehensive acts of clemency in the nation’s democratic history.

Among those honoured posthumously were two towering figures in Nigeria’s history — Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa and Herbert Macaulay. Vatsa, a distinguished soldier, poet, and former Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was executed in 1986 following a treason charge during the military era. His pardon, nearly four decades later, symbolises a gesture of healing and historical redress.

Similarly, Herbert Macaulay, widely regarded as the father of Nigerian nationalism and co-founder of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) alongside Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, received a posthumous pardon. Convicted in 1913 under the British colonial government, Macaulay’s unjust sentence had stained his legacy despite his monumental contributions to Nigeria’s independence movement. President Tinubu’s gesture finally exorcises that stigma from the nation’s records.

In a further demonstration of compassion and reconciliation, President Tinubu also extended clemency to several other notable individuals. Among them is Farouk Lawan, a former member of the House of Representatives, alongside Mrs. Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, Barrister Hussaini Umar, and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu. These individuals were granted pardons on account of demonstrated remorse and a commitment to reintegrate into society.

The President equally pardoned Nweke Francis Chibueze, serving a life sentence for a narcotics offence, and Dr. Nwogu Peters, who had served twelve of his seventeen-year sentence for fraud.

A significant highlight of the clemency exercise was the formal presidential pardon of the “Ogoni Nine”—Ken Saro Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. Their posthumous vindication represents a monumental symbolic justice for their long-standing struggle for environmental and social rights in the Niger Delta. Additionally, President Tinubu conferred national honours on the “Ogoni Four”—Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage—in recognition of their service and sacrifice.

Through this act of clemency, 82 inmates were granted freedom, 65 others had their sentences reduced, and 7 inmates on death row had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. The President’s decision was guided by the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM), chaired by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).

The 12-member committee included notable figures such as Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi (CON), Prof. Alkasum Abba, Prof. (Mrs.) Nike Y. Sidikat Ijaiya, Justice Augustine B. Utsaha, and Dr. Onwusoro Maduka (Secretary and former Permanent Secretary). Institutional members represented key national bodies including the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Service, National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

The committee’s final report, presented to the Council of State, detailed its painstaking review process. A total of 175 inmates were interviewed, and 62 applications were received on behalf of 119 others, culminating in 294 cases reviewed. Out of these, 82 inmates were recommended for clemency, 2 for full pardon, 65 for sentence reduction, 7 death-row inmates for commutation, and 15 ex-convicts—11 deceased—for presidential pardon.

The committee applied a comprehensive set of humanitarian and rehabilitative criteria, considering factors such as old age (60 years and above), terminal illness, youthful offenders (16 years and below), long-serving convicts with good records, rehabilitation through vocational skills, and demonstrated remorse. Recommendations also covered inmates deported from foreign prisons and those endorsed by correctional officers for exemplary conduct.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, had inaugurated the PACPM on January 15, 2025, marking a pivotal step in the administration’s broader agenda of justice reform, rehabilitation, and respect for human rights.