Tinubu Grants Pardon to Farouk Lawan, Late Mamman Vatsa, Herbert Macaulay, Others

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved presidential pardons for several notable Nigerians, including late Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, nationalist Herbert Macaulay, and former lawmaker Farouk Lawan. The decision followed the recommendation of the National Council of State, which met in Abuja on Thursday.

Vatsa, a poet and military officer executed in 1986 after being convicted of treason, received a posthumous pardon nearly four decades after his death. Similarly, Herbert Macaulay, widely regarded as the father of Nigerian nationalism and co-founder of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), was posthumously cleared of a 1913 conviction handed down by British colonial authorities. The presidential pardon formally removes the record of conviction that had remained against Macaulay for more than a century.

President Tinubu also extended clemency to four former public officials — Farouk Lawan, Anastasia Nwaobia, Hussaini Umar, and Ayinla Alanamu — allowing them to reintegrate into society after demonstrating remorse for their offences. Others who benefited include Nweke Chibueze, who was serving a life sentence for drug offences, and Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 years of a 17-year term for fraud.

In a historic move, the president granted a posthumous pardon to the Ogoni Nine — Ken Saro-Wiwa, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, and Felix Nuate — who were executed in 1995 by the military regime of Sani Abacha. Tinubu also awarded national honours to the Ogoni Four — Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage — as part of efforts to promote reconciliation and justice.

The president further granted clemency to 82 inmates and reduced the prison terms of 65 others. Seven inmates on death row had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. These actions were based on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM), chaired by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi. The committee includes legal experts, human rights representatives, and officials from the Nigerian Correctional Service, the police, and religious bodies.

The report presented to the Council of State showed that 175 inmates were interviewed, and 294 applications 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 presidential pardon. The committee considered factors such as old age, terminal illness, good conduct, and evidence of rehabilitation.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, inaugurated the committee in January 2025 to ensure a fair and transparent review of clemency applications in line with constitutional provisions.