President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a series of presidential pardons for notable Nigerian figures, including the late nationalist Herbert Macaulay, the Ogoni Nine executed in 1995, and Major-General Mamman Vatsa, who was killed over a coup allegation during the military era.
The President’s gesture also covered several former public officials, among them Farouk Lawan, and extended clemency to 82 inmates across the country, as part of efforts to promote reconciliation and justice reform.
According to a statement issued by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, the decision followed recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN). The committee reviewed hundreds of applications and selected beneficiaries based on good conduct, rehabilitation, and humanitarian grounds.
The late Herbert Macaulay, a co-founder of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), was posthumously cleared of colonial-era charges from 1913, while Major-General Vatsa’s 1986 conviction was also officially pardoned.
Equally significant was the posthumous pardon of the Ogoni Nine, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, Baribor Bera, and Barinem Kiobel, who were executed under the Abacha regime for their activism against environmental injustice in the Niger Delta. Four others, referred to as the Ogoni Four, also received national honours.
The Council of State, chaired by President Tinubu, endorsed the recommendations during its meeting in Abuja on Thursday, describing the move as a step toward national healing and reconciliation.
Under the approval, 82 inmates were granted full clemency, 65 had their sentences reduced, and seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.
Observers say the pardons signal the Tinubu administration’s commitment to justice reform and restorative reconciliation across Nigeria’s social and political history.
