Why Tinubu granted pardons to Macaulay, Vatsa, Saro-Wiwa, others — Presidency

The Presidency has explained that President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to grant presidential pardon and clemency to 175 Nigerians and foreigners, including late nationalist Sir Herbert Macaulay, environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Major General Mamman Vatsa, was driven by the desire to promote fairness, justice, and national unity.

In a statement on Saturday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the exercise was based on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).

According to Onanuga, the beneficiaries included persons who had demonstrated remorse, shown good behaviour, acquired vocational skills, or enrolled in educational programmes while in prison.

Others were considered on grounds of old age, ill health, or as victims of historical injustice.

“Illegal miners, white-collar convicts, remorseful drug offenders, foreigners, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, capital offenders such as Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the other Ogoni Eight were among those who received President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mercy,” the statement read.

The Presidency noted that the pardon also corrected a historical wrong committed against Sir Herbert Macaulay, who was banned from public office by the British colonial government in 1913 after being convicted of misappropriation of funds.

Tinubu’s action, it said, restored the honour of one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists.

Healing Old Wounds
Onanuga explained that the posthumous pardons granted to Vatsa, executed in 1986 for alleged coup plotting, and Saro-Wiwa along with eight other Ogoni activists executed in 1995, were part of President Tinubu’s effort to “heal old wounds and promote national reconciliation.”

In total, 175 convicts and former convicts benefited from the presidential mercy, including two inmates and 15 former convicts (11 of whom are deceased) granted full pardon, 82 inmates granted clemency, 65 whose sentences were commuted, and seven whose death sentences were reduced to life imprisonment.

Prominent living beneficiaries include Farouk Lawan, a former lawmaker convicted of corruption; Professor Magaji Garba, former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Gusau; and Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2014 for killing her husband.

Sanda’s clemency, according to the Presidency, followed appeals citing her remorse, good conduct, and the need to care for her two children.

Others pardoned include convicted drug traffickers, illegal miners, and white-collar offenders who showed significant behavioural reform or participated in rehabilitation and educational programmes while in custody.

Onanuga noted that the clemency exercise aligns with Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the President to grant pardons and reprieves after consulting the Council of State.

He added that the decision was reached after an extensive review process and was part of the Tinubu administration’s broader effort to decongest correctional facilities and promote humane justice reforms across the country.

The statement also disclosed that Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis has been tasked with overseeing the rehabilitation and reintegration of pardoned illegal miners into society.

“The President’s decision reflects his commitment to fairness, justice, and national healing, while giving deserving individuals a second chance to rebuild their lives,” Onanuga added.