President Tinubu Grants Posthumous Pardons to Macaulay, Vatsa, and Ogoni Nine, Clements 82 Inmates
ABUJA – In a landmark exercise of presidential power, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping grant of clemency, issuing posthumous pardons to historical figures including nationalist Herbert Macaulay and Major General Mamman Vatsa, and formally pardoning the executed environmental activists known as the Ogoni Nine.
The approvals were ratified on Thursday following a recommendation from the National Council of State, which met to consider the report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM).
The historic decision clears the record of Herbert Macaulay, a founding father of Nigerian nationalism who was convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913. It also pardons Major General Mamman Vatsa, a poet and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, who was executed in 1986 for a treason charge.
In a significant move addressing a longstanding issue from the 1990s, the President also granted formal pardons to the Ogoni Nine—Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others who were executed in 1995 following a controversial trial. Furthermore, Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage, known as the Ogoni Four, were awarded posthumous national honours.
The clemency extended to the living. Former House of Representatives member Farouk Lawan, who was convicted in a high-profile bribery case, was among 15 ex-convicts granted a pardon to facilitate their reintegration into society. Others pardoned include Mrs Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia and Barrister Hussaini Umar.
Overall, President Tinubu granted clemency to 82 inmates, reduced the prison terms of 65 others, and commuted the sentences of seven inmates on death row to life imprisonment.
The President acted based on the final report of the PACPM, a 12-member committee chaired by the Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi. The committee, inaugurated on January 15, 2025, interviewed 175 inmates and received 62 applications.
According to the committee, recommendations were based on several criteria, including old age, critical ill health, long-term service with good behaviour, and demonstrated remorse.
This mass clemency is seen as a major step towards promoting justice, rehabilitation, and human rights within the Nigerian justice system.
