- Maryam Sanda, Major General Vatsa, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Herbert Macaulay, and the Ogoni Nine among beneficiaries of presidential mercy
Malik Yahya/
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a broad wave of presidential pardon and clemency affecting 175 convicts and former convicts, including illegal miners, white-collar offenders, remorseful drug convicts, and capital offenders.
Among the most notable beneficiaries are Maryam Sanda (sentenced to death for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello), Major-General Mamman Vatsa, Major S.A. Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, and the late Ken Saro-Wiwa with the Ogoni Eight.
Also pardoned posthumously is Nigeria’s foremost nationalist, Sir Herbert Macaulay, who was wrongfully convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913.
Basis for Clemency
The President said his decision followed 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 Olasunkanmi Fagbemi (SAN).
The Committee considered criteria such as remorse, good conduct, advanced age, ill-health, acquisition of vocational skills, and enrolment in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
In total, the Committee recommended:
• Pardon for 2 current inmates and 15 former convicts (11 of them posthumously)
• Clemency for 82 inmates
• Commutation of sentences for 65 inmates
• Conversion of 7 death sentences to life imprisonment
Prince Fagbemi presented the report at the Council of State meeting chaired by President Tinubu.
Highlights of the Presidential Mercy
Pardoned Persons
• Nweke Francis Chibueze, 44 – Life sentence, cocaine trafficking (Kirikiri).
• Dr Nwogu Peters, 67 – 17-year term for fraud (2013).
• Mrs Anastasia Daniel Nwaoba, 63 – Served sentence for fraud.
• Barr Hussaini Alhaji Umar, 58 – Fined ₦150 million (ICPC case).
• Ayinla Saadu Alanamu, 63 – 7 years for bribery (2019).
• Hon Farouk M. Lawan, 62 – 5 years for corruption (2021).
Posthumous Pardon
• Sir Herbert Macaulay – Convicted in 1913 for alleged misappropriation.
• Maj-Gen Mamman Jiya Vatsa – Executed in 1986 for alleged coup plot.
Posthumous Pardon: The Ogoni Nine
Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawa, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine — all executed in 1995.
Victims Honoured: Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobaru, Chief Samuel Orage, and Chief Theophilus Orage.
Presidential Clemency (Selected Beneficiaries)
Most beneficiaries earned clemency for good conduct or new skills acquired while in custody.
They include drug offenders, illegal miners, and remorseful inmates across custodial centres nationwide.
Among them:
• Aluagwu Lawrence, 47 – Indian hemp, sentenced 2015.
• Ben Friday, 60 – 3 years for marijuana (2023).
• Kelvin Christopher Smith, 42 – 4 years for cocaine import (2023).
• Akinrinnade Adebiyi, 47 – 3 years for Tramadol (2023).
• Bala Azika Yahaya, 70 – 15 years for cannabis (2017).
• Lina Kusum Wilson, 34 – Death sentence (2017) commuted after 8 years.
• Johnny Ntheru, 63 – Life imprisonment since 1989, 36 years served.
• Maryam Sanda, 37 – Death sentence for killing husband; released after 6 years 8 months at Suleja Prison following family appeal and evidence of good conduct.
Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis undertook to oversee the rehabilitation and empowerment of all illegal miners granted clemency.
Commuted and Reduced Sentences
The Committee also reduced sentences for 65 inmates who demonstrated remorse, good conduct, or old age.
Examples include:
• Yusuf Owolabi, 36 – Life for manslaughter (2015) → 12 years.
• Ifenna Kennechukwu, 42 – 20 years for drugs → 12 years.
• Patrick Mensah, 40 – 17 years for drugs → 11 years.
• Professor Magaji Garba, 67 – 7 years for false pretence → 4 years.
• Major S.A. Akubo, 62 – Life sentence for arms offences → 20 years.
Death Sentences Commuted to Life
Seven inmates on death row received reprieve:
• Emmanuel Baba, 38 – Culpable homicide (2017).
• Emmanuel Gladstone, 45 – Murder (2020).
• Moses Ayodele Olorunfemi, 51 – Culpable homicide (2012).
• Abubakar Usman, 59 – Death (2014).
• Khalifa Umar, 37 – Death (2014).
• Benjamin Ekeze, 40 – Armed robbery (2017).
• Mohammed Umar, 43 – Culpable homicide (2018).
A Historic Act of Reconciliation
In what has been described as a symbolic gesture of national healing, President Tinubu’s decision also corrected colonial-era injustices and reconciled Nigeria with painful chapters of its history, particularly the execution of the Ogoni Nine and the persecution of Herbert Macaulay.
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