President Bola Tinubu. PHOTO CREDIT: State House.
The use of the presidential prerogative of mercy for 175 individuals in a variety of categories was approved by the Council of State on Thursday.
At Thursday's Council of State meeting, which was held at State House in Abuja, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) presented President Bola Tinubu's recommendations based on the report of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. The decision came after his presentation.
Our correspondent learned that pardons were given to former FCT minister under the Babangida government Maj-Gen. Mamman Vatsa (retd) and one of Nigeria's founding fathers, Herbert Macaulay, even though the complete names of the recipients have not yet been made public.
Beneficiaries also include members of the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four.
"Among the two important individuals on that list are Herbert Macaulay and Vatsa," a source who was present at the meeting said our correspondent.
Often referred to be the "father of Nigerian nationalism," Macaulay was found guilty twice by the colonial authorities in Lagos.
Historians have long questioned whether the 1913 trial, in which he was convicted of embezzling money from an estate he managed while working as a surveyor in private practice, was fair.
He was found guilty of sedition in the infamous "Gunpowder Plot" case in 1928 and sentenced to six months of hard labor in prison after his Lagos Daily News published inflammatory statements during the Eleko (Oba of Lagos) movement.
On March 5, 1986, Vatsa, a poet, former FCT minister, and Supreme Military Council member, was put to death by firing squad after a covert military court found him guilty of treason in connection with a purported coup against his childhood friend, then-military dictator Ibrahim Babangida.
For decades, the case has been contentious, with sporadic requests for a posthumous pardon.
Of the 175 recipients, seven death sentences were commuted to life in prison, 65 received sentence reductions, and 82 prisoners received a complete presidential pardon.
"82 of the inmates were granted full pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, and seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment," Kaduna state Governor Uba Sani told State House media following the meeting.
"The ruling demonstrates the President's dedication to justice and reforming the criminal justice system."
President Tinubu presided over the meeting, which also approved important appointments, such as Tonge Bularafa serving as the Federal Commissioner for Yobe State on the National Population Commission and Dr. Aminu Yusuf from Niger State as its Chairman. The approval of both appointments was unanimous.
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