Reported by: Ime Richard Aondofa | Edited by: Henry Owen
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted posthumous state pardons to Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, Herbert Macaulay, and the Ogoni Nine, in a landmark exercise of presidential clemency that underscores a renewed commitment to justice, reconciliation, and national healing.
The decision followed the endorsement of the National Council of State, which met in Abuja on Thursday, where the President also approved a series of pardons and sentence commutations for several former convicts and inmates across the country.
Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and a celebrated poet, was executed in 1986 under the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida after being convicted of treason — a charge many Nigerians have long viewed as controversial. His posthumous pardon by President Tinubu restores his national honour nearly four decades after his death.
Also pardoned was Herbert Macaulay, one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists and the co-founder, alongside Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). Macaulay, who died in 1946, had been unjustly convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913 and banned from public office. His pardon symbolically removes the colonial-era stigma from his record, reaffirming his rightful place among Nigeria’s founding heroes.
President Tinubu further extended clemency to the Ogoni Nine — the late environmental rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and his compatriots Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine — who were executed in 1995 by the military government of General Sani Abacha. Their conviction and execution sparked global outrage and strained Nigeria’s international relations.
In addition to their pardons, four other prominent Ogoni leaders — Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage — were awarded posthumous national honours, further acknowledging their contributions to peace and social justice in the Niger Delta.
The President also granted pardons to four living former convicts: Farouk Lawan, former member of the House of Representatives; Mrs Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia; Barrister Hussaini Umar; and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu — all of whom were recognized for showing “sufficient remorse” and positive reintegration efforts. Similarly, Nweke Francis Chibueze, serving a life sentence for cocaine trafficking, and Dr Nwogu Peters, who had completed 12 of his 17-year sentence for fraud, were also granted clemency.
In total, 82 inmates received presidential clemency, 65 had their sentences reduced, and seven inmates on death row had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
The exercise followed the recommendations of 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 committee, inaugurated on January 15, 2025, was established to promote justice, rehabilitation, and human rights within Nigeria’s correctional system.
Other committee members include Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi (CON), Prof. Alkasum Abba, Prof. (Mrs.) Nike Y. Sidikat Ijaiya, Justice Augustine B. Utsaha, and Dr Onwusoro Maduka (Secretary). Institutional representatives were drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Service, National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
According to the committee’s final report presented to the Council of State, 175 inmates were interviewed, while 294 cases were reviewed. Out of these, 82 were recommended for clemency, 65 for sentence reduction, seven for commutation of death sentences, and 15 ex-convicts — including the Ogoni Nine — for posthumous pardons.
The committee based its decisions on humanitarian and rehabilitative criteria such as old age, ill health, long service of prison terms with good conduct, youthfulness, and demonstrable remorse.
By extending the prerogative of mercy to historical figures and contemporary convicts alike, President Tinubu’s gesture reflects what the presidency described as a “commitment to restorative justice and national reconciliation.”
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