President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted posthumous pardons to Nigerian nationalist Herbert Macaulay, poet Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, and the Ogoni Nine, among others, following the National Council of State’s endorsement in Abuja on Thursday.
Additionally, clemency was extended to 82 inmates, with 65 others receiving reduced sentences and seven death row inmates’ sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Macaulay, co-founder of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), was unjustly convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913 and barred from public office until his death in 1946.
Vatsa was executed in 1986 on treason charges. The Ogoni Nine—Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine—were also pardoned, while the Ogoni Four (Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage) received posthumous national honors.
Among the living, former House of Representatives member Farouk Lawan, Mrs. Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, Barrister Hussaini Umar, Ayinla Saadu Alanamu, Nweke Francis Chibueze (serving life for cocaine possession), and Dr. Nwogu Peters (12 years into a 17-year fraud sentence) were pardoned to aid their societal reintegration after showing remorse.
The pardons and clemency were based on recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM), chaired by Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi.
The 12-member committee, including representatives from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Service, and other bodies, reviewed 294 cases, interviewing 175 inmates (160 male, 15 female).
Criteria included old age, terminal illness, youth, long-term imprisonment with good conduct, vocational training, and remorse.
The PACPM, inaugurated on January 15, 2025, by Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, aims to promote justice and rehabilitation.
Its report, presented to the Council of State, recommended clemency for 82 inmates, pardons for 15 ex-convicts (11 deceased), and honors for the Ogoni Four, totaling 175 beneficiaries.
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