President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted posthumous pardons to Nigerian nationalist Herbert Macaulay and the late Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, while also approving clemency for 82 inmates across the country.
The decision followed the endorsement of the recommendations made by the National Council of State, which met in Abuja on Thursday.
Vatsa, a soldier, poet, and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was executed in 1986 after being convicted of treason under the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. His posthumous pardon marks a symbolic gesture of national reconciliation.
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, also received a posthumous pardon. Macaulay was unjustly convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913 and banned from public office before his death in 1946. The presidential pardon formally clears his name over a century later.
In addition, President Tinubu granted pardons to four former convicts — former lawmaker Farouk Lawan, Mrs. Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, Barr. Hussaini Umar, and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu — following recommendations that they had shown genuine remorse and were ready to reintegrate into society.
Others who benefited include Nweke Francis Chibueze, serving a life sentence for a drug-related offence, and Dr. Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 of his 17-year sentence for fraud.
In a historic move, President Tinubu also pardoned the Ogoni Nine — including Ken Saro-Wiwa, Barinem Kiobel, and seven others — formally restoring their national dignity nearly three decades after their controversial execution. Additionally, the Ogoni Four — Chiefs Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage — were posthumously awarded national honours.
According to 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 President also granted clemency to 82 inmates, reduced the sentences of 65 others, and commuted the death sentences of seven inmates to life imprisonment.
The Committee, inaugurated in January 2025 by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, reviewed 294 cases, including 175 inmate interviews. Its recommendations were based on factors such as old age, terminal illness, long-term imprisonment with good conduct, and evidence of rehabilitation.
Members of the Committee include Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi (CON), Prof. Alkasum Abba, Prof. (Mrs.) Nike Sidikat Ijaiya, Justice Augustine B. Utsaha, and Dr. Onwusoro Maduka, among others. Institutional representatives from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Service, National Human Rights Commission, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) also participated.
A statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, described the exercise as part of President Tinubu’s broader effort to promote justice, rehabilitation, and national healing.
“On the whole, a total of 175 beneficiaries were recommended,” the Committee’s report noted.
