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Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, sentenced to death for treason in 1986, received a posthumous pardon from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Vatsa, a poet, was among 17 people who received presidential pardon following the approval of the National Council of State, which met in Abuja on Thursday.
President Tinubu also granted a posthumous pardon to Herbert Macaulay, a Nigerian nationalist and co-founder, together with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, of the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC).
Macaulay was the first president of the party, which played a vital role in Nigeria’s struggle for independence. However, in 1913, Macaulay was deemed to have been wrongly convicted by the British colonialists and banned from public office.
Macaulay died in 1946, but to this day the stigma of being an ex-convict has not been exorcised from his archives.
President Tinubu also pardoned four ex-prisoners, including former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, Mrs Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, lawyer Hussaini Umar and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu. They were pardoned to allow them to integrate into society, having demonstrated sufficient remorse.
Nweke Francis Chibueze, who was serving a life sentence for cocaine, was pardoned, along with Dr Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 of a 17-year sentence for fraud.
The Ogoni Nine: Ken Saro Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel and John Kpuine have been formally pardoned.
At the same time, the President awarded national honors to the four Ogoni chiefs: Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage and Theophilus Orage.
In exercising his constitutional power of mercy, President Tinubu granted clemency to 82 inmates and reduced the prison sentences of 65 others. He granted reprieve to seven death row inmates by commuting their sentences to life imprisonment.
President Tinubu acted on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM).
The committee consists of 12 members, chaired by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi. The other members are Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi, CON; Prof. Alkasum Abba; Prof. (Mrs.) Nike Y. Sidikat Ijaiya; Judge Augustine B. Utsaha; and Secretary, Dr Onwusoro Maduka, former Permanent Secretary.
The institutional representatives on the Committee are: the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs; representatives of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Prison Service, the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The final report of the commission was presented to the Council of State in Abuja on Thursday, as required by the Constitution.
The report noted: “A total of 175 inmates were interviewed and 62 applications were received on behalf of 119 inmates considered by the committee, for a total of 294.
“One hundred and sixty of the inmates interviewed were men, while 15 were women. Eighty-two inmates were recommended for clemency; two (2) for pardon; sixty-five (65) inmates for reduction of their prison sentence and seven (7) death row inmates for commutation to life imprisonment.
“Furthermore, fifteen (15) ex-convicts were recommended for presidential pardon, eleven (11) of them are deceased (including Ogoni 9). The four Ogoni (4) were also recommended for the Post-Humous National Honors Award.
“Overall, a total of one hundred and seventy-five (175) beneficiaries are recommended.”
The commission had acted based on the following criteria: advanced age (60 years and over); ill health could end in death; young people (16 years and under); long-term convicts who have served prison sentences of 10 years or more with a good record; and inmates serving three years or more
“Those who have been in detention centers have learned sustainable trades capable of keeping them away from crime; those who have been judged to be repentant; those who have been recommended by prison officials for exemplary behavior and Nigerian prisoners deported from other countries.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, inaugurated the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM) on January 15, 2025, as a significant step towards promoting justice, rehabilitation and human rights in Nigeria.
*Bayo Onanuga
Special Advisor to the President
(Information and strategy)
October 9, 2025
