ABUJA (AP) — President Bola Tinubu has granted a presidential pardon to 175 individuals, including Nigerian nationalist icon Herbert Macaulay and former Federal Capital Territory Minister Maj.-Gen. Mamman Vatsa (retired), following the approval of the Council of State on Thursday in Abuja.
The clemency decision was based on a presentation by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), during a closed-door session at the Presidential Villa. Fagbemi conveyed the President’s recommendations as submitted by the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.
While the full list of pardoned individuals has not been officially released, sources present at the meeting confirmed that Macaulay and Vatsa were among the most notable recipients. Several members of the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four activists executed under past military regimes are also reported to be included in the group.
Known as the “father of Nigerian nationalism,” Macaulay was convicted twice by British colonial authorities. In 1913, he was sentenced for allegedly mismanaging estate funds as a private surveyor. A second conviction came in 1928 after his newspaper, the Lagos Daily News, published articles critical of the colonial government during the Eleko of Lagos dispute, leading to a sedition charge in the infamous “Gunpowder Plot.”
Vatsa, a former member of the Supreme Military Council, was executed by firing squad in 1986 after a secret military tribunal convicted him of plotting a coup against then military ruler Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, his longtime friend. The case has remained deeply divisive, with ongoing calls for a posthumous pardon.
Out of the 175 beneficiaries, 82 received full presidential pardons, 65 had their sentences reduced, and seven inmates on death row had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, who briefed reporters after the meeting, said the move demonstrates President Tinubu’s “commitment to justice and correctional reform.”
The Council of State, chaired by the President, also confirmed key appointments, including Dr. Aminu Yusuf as Chairman of the National Population Commission and Tonge Bularafa as Federal Commissioner for Yobe State. Both nominations were unanimously approved.
