The Presidency has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to grant clemency to 175 inmates and ex-convicts following the recommendations of the National Council of State at its meeting on Thursday.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement titled “Details of the Presidential Pardon and Clemency” released on Saturday, said the gesture was extended to individuals who demonstrated remorse, good conduct, or acquired new vocational skills while serving their sentences. Some, he added, were considered on grounds of old age or enrollment in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
According to Onanuga, the President also used the opportunity to correct a “historic injustice” by granting a posthumous pardon to nationalist Sir Herbert Macaulay, who was convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913. Other notable posthumous beneficiaries include Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, executed for an alleged coup plot in 1986, and the Ogoni Nine, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, who were executed in 1995.
Among those pardoned are illegal miners, drug offenders, white-collar convicts, and foreigners, as well as individuals convicted of capital offences such as Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for culpable homicide. The Presidency stated that Sanda’s clemency was granted based on her good conduct in prison and her role as a mother of two.
The Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), recommended the release of 175 individuals, including:
- 2 inmates and 15 former convicts (11 of them posthumously pardoned),
- 82 inmates granted clemency,
- 65 whose sentences were reduced or commuted,
- and 7 inmates on death row whose sentences were changed to life imprisonment.
Prominent living beneficiaries include Dr. Nwogu Peters, Hon. Farouk Lawan, and Barr. Hussaini Alhaji Umar, all convicted of corruption-related offences. Others convicted of drug, theft, and human trafficking offences also benefited from the pardon.
The list also features dozens of illegal miners serving jail terms across various correctional centres. Their rehabilitation and empowerment, according to the release, will be overseen by Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis, who has signed an undertaking to ensure their reintegration into society.
The statement also detailed a series of sentence reductions for inmates convicted of crimes ranging from manslaughter to drug trafficking, citing good conduct, advanced age, or the acquisition of skills as justification.
Seven inmates on death row, including Emmanuel Baba, Benjamin Ekeze, and Moses Ayodele Olurunfemi, had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment following reports of repentance and positive conduct while in custody.
The Presidency emphasized that the clemency was not an act of leniency but part of President Tinubu’s commitment to justice, fairness, and restorative rehabilitation, aligning with constitutional provisions empowering the President to exercise the prerogative of mercy on deserving individuals.
