Tinubu Pardons Vatsa, Macaulay, Grants Clemency To 82 Inmates

President Bola Tinubu has granted posthumous pardons to Major General Mamman Vatsa and nationalist Herbert Macaulay, while extending clemency to 82 inmates and reducing sentences for 65 others.

The presidency announced the pardons on Thursday following endorsement by the National Council of State at a meeting in Abuja.

Vatsa, a poet who was sentenced to death over a treason charge in 1986, received a posthumous pardon. He was among 17 people who received presidential pardons.

Macaulay, a Nigerian nationalist and co-founder with Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), was also pardoned posthumously.

Macaulay served as the party’s first president and played a role in Nigeria’s struggle for independence.

In 1913, he was convicted by British colonialists and banned from public office.

Though Macaulay died in 1946, the conviction remained on his record until now.

Among the living recipients, President Tinubu pardoned former House of Representatives member Farouk Lawan, along with Mrs. Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, Barrister Hussaini Umar, and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu.

According to presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, they “were pardoned to enable them to integrate into society, having demonstrated sufficient remorse.”

Nweke Francis Chibueze, serving a life sentence for cocaine offences, and Dr. Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 of his 17-year sentence for fraud, also received pardons.

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 formally pardoned.

Tinubu had awarded national honours to the ‘Ogoni Four’ comprising Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage.

In exercising his constitutional power of mercy, Tinubu commuted the death sentences of seven inmates to life imprisonment.

He acted on recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM), chaired by Attorney General and Justice Minister Prince Lateef Fagbemi.

The 12-member committee includes Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi, Prof. Alkasum Abba, Prof. Nike Y. Sidikat Ijaiya, Justice Augustine B. Utsaha, and Secretary Dr. Onwusoro Maduka, a former Permanent Secretary. Institutional representatives include officials from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Service, National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and Christian Association of Nigeria.

The committee’s report stated, “A total of 175 inmates were interviewed, and 62 applications were received on behalf of 119 inmates considered by the committee, making it a total of 294.”

Of those interviewed, 160 were male and 15 were female.

The report noted that 82 inmates were recommended for clemency, two for pardon, 65 for reduced sentences, and seven on death row for commutation to life imprisonment.

Additionally, 15 ex-convicts were recommended for presidential pardon, 11 of whom are deceased.

The committee considered several criteria, including old age (60 years and above), terminal illness, young persons (16 years and below), long-term convicts who served 10 years or more with good records, and those demonstrating remorse or exemplary behaviour.

The Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy was inaugurated on January 15, 2025, by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.