The Presidency has said President Bola Tinubu’s decision to grant presidential pardons and clemency to 175 Nigerians and foreigners, including late nationalist Sir Herbert Macaulay, environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Major General Mamman Vatsa, was aimed at promoting fairness, justice, and national unity.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained that the exercise followed the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
Onanuga said the beneficiaries included inmates and former convicts who had shown remorse, demonstrated good behaviour, or participated in rehabilitation, vocational, or educational programmes while in custody. Others were considered based on old age, ill health, or as victims of historical injustice.
“Illegal miners, white-collar convicts, remorseful drug offenders, foreigners, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, capital offenders such as Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the other Ogoni Eight were among those who received President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mercy,” the statement read.
The Presidency said the pardon also corrected historical wrongs, such as the case of Sir Herbert Macaulay, who was barred from holding public office by the British colonial government in 1913 following a conviction for misappropriation of funds. Tinubu’s gesture, it added, restores the honour of one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists.
Healing Historical Wounds
Onanuga explained that the posthumous pardons granted to Vatsa who was executed in 1986 for alleged coup plotting and to Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists executed in 1995 were part of President Tinubu’s broader effort to “heal old wounds and foster national reconciliation.”
In total, 175 persons benefited from the presidential clemency: two inmates and 15 former convicts (11 posthumously) received full pardons; 82 inmates were granted clemency; 65 had their sentences commuted; and seven death sentences were reduced to life imprisonment.
Prominent living beneficiaries include former lawmaker Farouk Lawan, convicted of corruption; Professor Magaji Garba, former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Gusau; and Maryam Sanda, convicted in 2020 for killing her husband.
Sanda’s pardon, according to the Presidency, followed appeals citing her remorse, good conduct, and her responsibility toward caring for her two children.
Others pardoned include convicted drug traffickers, illegal miners, and white-collar offenders who demonstrated genuine reformation and active participation in rehabilitation and education programmes while serving their sentences.
Onanuga said the clemency exercise was carried out under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the President to grant pardons after consulting the Council of State.
He noted that the decision followed an extensive review and formed part of Tinubu’s wider justice reform strategy to decongest correctional facilities and promote humane, restorative justice in Nigeria.
The statement added that Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis has been appointed to oversee the rehabilitation and reintegration of pardoned illegal miners into society.
“The President’s decision reflects his commitment to fairness, justice, and national healing—giving deserving individuals a second chance to rebuild their lives and contribute positively to the nation,” Onanuga stated.
