The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping act of mercy, granting pardons and sentence reductions to 175 convicts and former convicts across Nigeria. The beneficiaries include notable figures such as the late Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, Major Akubo, Ken Saro-Wiwa, the other Ogoni Eight, Maryam Sanda, and several others.
According to a State House press release, the decision followed the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi (SAN). The Committee advised clemency based on criteria such as remorse, good conduct, old age, ill health, or acquisition of vocational skills during incarceration.
President Tinubu’s decision also corrected a century-old historical injustice against Sir Herbert Macaulay, one of Nigeria’s founding nationalists, who was unjustly convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913.
Out of the 175 beneficiaries, two inmates and 15 former convicts (11 of whom are deceased) were granted full pardons. Eighty-two inmates received clemency, 65 inmates had their sentences commuted, while seven inmates on death row had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment.
Among those granted clemency are illegal miners, drug offenders, elderly inmates, and individuals convicted of white-collar crimes. The government noted that many had demonstrated remorse and undergone rehabilitation through education or vocational training at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) or correctional workshops.
In a notable gesture of reconciliation, the President posthumously pardoned Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Eight, decades after their controversial execution, signaling a move toward national healing and justice.
Also benefiting from the presidential pardon are Maryam Sanda, whose death sentence was commuted based on good behavior and the welfare of her children, and Professor Magaji Garba, who received a sentence reduction due to old age and good conduct.
Prince Fagbemi presented the Committee’s full report to the National Council of State, chaired by President Tinubu, where the decision received unanimous endorsement.
The statement further revealed that Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis signed an undertaking to oversee the rehabilitation and empowerment of the illegal miners granted clemency.
This presidential gesture underscores President Tinubu’s commitment to justice reform, compassion, and the reintegration of reformed offenders into society, reflecting a renewed vision of restorative justice under his administration.
