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ABUJA – October 9, 2025:

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved posthumous pardons for Nigeria’s foremost nationalist, Herbert Macaulay, and former military officer and poet, Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, nearly four decades after the latter was executed for alleged treason.

The pardons were among the key decisions endorsed by the National Council of State, which met in Abuja on Thursday, where President Tinubu also approved clemency for 82 inmates and reduced sentences for 65 others.

Making this known in a statement, the Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy) Mr Bayo Onanuga said the President further commuted the death sentences of seven inmates to life imprisonment in line with recommendations from 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).

In a historic gesture, the President also granted posthumous pardons to the “Ogoni Nine,” including environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and conferred national honours on the “Ogoni Four”—Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage.

Among the four living former convicts pardoned were Farouk Lawan, former member of the House of Representatives; Mrs. Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia; Barrister Hussaini Umar; and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu—all said to have shown remorse and efforts toward rehabilitation.

Other beneficiaries include Nweke Francis Chibueze, serving a life sentence for a drug-related offence, and Dr. Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 out of a 17-year term for fraud.

According to the PACPM report presented to the Council, 175 inmates were interviewed, with 294 cases reviewed in total. Of these, 82 were recommended for clemency, two for full pardon, 65 for sentence reduction, and seven on death row for commutation to life imprisonment.

The Committee also recommended 15 ex-convicts for presidential pardon—11 of them deceased, including the Ogoni Nine.

The report outlined the criteria used in the review process, including old age, terminal illness, long-term incarceration with good conduct, demonstrated remorse, and vocational training while in custody.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, had inaugurated the PACPM on January 15, 2025, as part of efforts to promote justice, rehabilitation, and human rights in the Nigerian correctional system.