ROLL CALL: Herbert Macaulay, Vatsa, Farouk Lawan on Tinubu’s pardon list

President Bola Tinubu has granted presidential pardon to Herbert Macaulay, Mamman Vatsa, and Farouk Lawan, alongside 14 others, following the approval of the national council of state.

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, announced the decision in a statement on Thursday.

Vatsa, a major general and poet executed in 1986 for alleged treason, was posthumously pardoned nearly four decades after his death.

Similarly, Macaulay, Nigeria’s nationalist and co-founder of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), also received a posthumous pardon.

Macaulay, who was unjustly convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913, was banned from holding public office. He died in 1946, but the blemish of his conviction remained on record until now.

Tinubu also pardoned four former convicts —former house of representatives’ member Farouk Lawan, Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, Hussaini Umar, and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu—for showing “sufficient remorse” and readiness to reintegrate into society.

Nweke Francis Chibueze, who was serving a life sentence for cocaine trafficking, was also pardoned, while Nwogu Peters, convicted of fraud and jailed for 17 years, was freed after serving 12.

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.

In addition, Tinubu formally pardoned the “Ogoni Nine” — Ken Saro-Wiwa, Baribor Bera, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine.

He also awarded national honours to the “Ogoni Four” — Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage.

The decision followed the recommendations of the presidential advisory committee on the prerogative of mercy (PACPM), chaired by Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice.

Other members of the committee include Akinlolu Olujinmi, Alkasum Abba, Nike Sidikat Ijaiya, Augustine Utsaha, and Onwusoro Maduka, the secretary.

Institutional representatives on the committee include officials from the ministry of special duties and inter-governmental affairs, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Nigerian Correctional Service, the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

The report, presented to the council of state in Abuja, showed that 175 inmates were interviewed and 294 applications reviewed.

According to the report, “Eighty-two inmates were recommended for clemency, two for pardon, sixty-five for reduction of prison terms, and seven on death row for commutation to life imprisonment.”

It added that 15 ex-convicts were recommended for presidential pardon, including the late Ogoni Nine, while four others were proposed for posthumous national honours.

The committee adopted criteria such as old age, terminal illness, long-term imprisonment, good conduct, and rehabilitation in its recommendations.

George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), inaugurated the PACPM on January 15, 2025, to advance justice, rehabilitation, and human rights in the country.