The Council of State on Thursday approved President Bola Tinubu’s recommendation for the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy on 175 individuals across various categories.
The decision followed a presentation by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who conveyed the President’s proposals based on the report of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. The meeting was held at the State House, Abuja.
Although the full list of beneficiaries is yet to be made public, sources at the meeting confirmed that the late nationalist and founding father of Nigeria, Herbert Macaulay, and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under the Babangida regime, Major-General Mamman Vatsa (retd.), were among those granted posthumous pardons.
“Herbert Macaulay and Vatsa are among the two major ones on that list,” a source at the meeting disclosed.
Macaulay, revered as the father of Nigerian nationalism, was twice convicted by the colonial authorities in Lagos. In 1913, he was imprisoned for alleged misappropriation of estate funds while working as a surveyor, and in 1928, he was jailed for sedition over articles published in his Lagos Daily News during the Eleko of Lagos controversy—cases that historians have long described as politically motivated.
Major-General Vatsa, a poet, soldier, and former FCT minister, was executed by firing squad on March 5, 1986, following a secret military tribunal’s conviction for treason in connection with an alleged coup plot against then military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida, his childhood friend. His case has remained one of Nigeria’s most debated political trials.
Out of the 175 beneficiaries, 82 inmates received full presidential pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.
Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State said the decision reflects President Tinubu’s commitment to justice and correctional reform.
“The President approved the exercise of mercy for 175 persons — 82 of them were granted full pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, and seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment,” Governor Sani explained.
The Council of State meeting, presided over by President Tinubu, also ratified key federal appointments, including Dr. Aminu Yusuf from Niger State as Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) and Tonge Bularafa as Federal Commissioner representing Yobe State in the Commission. Both appointments were unanimously approved by the Council.
Source: Punch Newspaper
