President Bola Tinubu has granted presidential pardon and clemency to 175 persons, including late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, nationalist Herbert Macaulay, Major General Mamman Vatsa, and Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death for killing her husband.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday, the decision followed recommendations by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
The list, released on Saturday, is divided into six parts: pardoned, posthumous pardon (including the Ogoni Nine), victims of the Ogoni Nine honoured, presidential clemency (clemency beneficiaries), list of inmates recommended for reduced term of imprisonment, and list of inmates on death row reduced to life imprisonment.
Below is the full list of beneficiaries as contained in the statement:
STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE
Details of The Presidential Pardon and Clemency
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 the 175 convicts and former convicts who received President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mercy on Thursday.
President Tinubu granted clemency to most of them based on the reports that the convicts had shown remorse and good conduct. He forgave some due to old age, the acquisition of new vocational skills, or enrolment in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). President Tinubu also corrected the historic injustice committed by British colonialists against Sir Herbert Macaulay, one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists.
In all, the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General and Justice Minister, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, recommended pardon for two inmates, 15 former convicts, 11 of whom have died. The committee recommended clemency for 82 inmates and commutation of sentences for 65 inmates. Seven inmates on death row also benefited from the Presidential reprieve. The committee recommended that the President should commute their death sentences to life imprisonment.
Prince Fagbemi presented the committee’s report at the Council of State meeting, chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
FULL LIST OF BENEFICIARIES OF PRESIDENT TINUBU’S MERCY
PARDONED
1. Nweke Francis Chibueze, aged 44, serving a life sentence at Kirikiri for cocaine.
2. Dr Nwogu Peters, aged 67; Serving a 17-year jail term for fraud. Sentenced in 2013.
3. Mrs Anastasia Daniel Nwaoba, aged 63. Already served a sentence for fraud
4. Barr. Hussaini Alhaji Umar, aged 58. Sentenced in 2023 to pay a fine of N150M in the ICPC case
5. Ayinla Saadu Alanamu, age 63, was sentenced to seven years for bribery in 2019 and has served the sentence.
6. Hon. Farouk M. Lawan, aged 62. Sentenced to five years in 2021 for Corrupt Practices and had served the sentence.
POSTHUMOUS PARDON
7. Sir Herbert Macaulay was banned from public office for misappropriation of funds and sentenced in 1913 by the British colonialists.
8. Major-General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, age 46, Sentenced in 1986 for treason: related to an alleged coup plot
POSTHUMOUS PARDON: THE OGONI NINE
9. Ken Saro Wiwa. Sentenced for murder
10. Saturday Dobee. Sentenced for murder
11. Nordu Eawa. Sentenced for murder
12. Daniel Gbooko. Sentenced for murder
13. Paul Levera. Sentenced for murder
14. Felix Nuate. Sentenced for murder
15. Baribor Bera. Sentenced for murder
16. Barinem Kiobel. Sentenced for murder
17. John Kpuine. Sentenced for murder
VICTIMS OF OGONI NINE HONOURED:
Chief Albert Badey
Chief Edward Kobaru
Chief Samuel Orage
Chief Theophilus Orage
PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY
Most of the beneficiaries showed either remorse or learned vocational skills in jail
1. Aluagwu Lawrence, aged 47, sentenced for Indian hemp (selling), 2015
2. Ben Friday, aged 60, was sentenced to 3 years or N1.3 million fine for marijuana in 2023.
3. Oroke Micheal Chibueze, aged 21, sentenced to 5 years (cannabis sativa) in 2023
4. Kelvin Christopher Smith, aged 42, was sentenced to 4 years for importing cocaine in 2023
5. Azubuike Jeremiah Emeka, aged 31, sentenced in 2021 to 5 years or N3 million fine for importing cocaine.
6. Akinrinnade Akinwande Adebiyi, aged 47, sentenced in 2023 to 3 years for dealing in Tramadol.
7. Ahmed Adeyemo, aged 38, sentenced to 15 years for cannabis. Already served nine years, 5 months at Kirikiri
8. Adeniyi Jimoh, aged 31years, sentenced to 15 years for Drugs in 2015 and served nine years at Kirikiri.
9. Seun Omirinde, aged 39, sentenced to 15 years for Drugs in 2015. Served nine years at Kirikiri
10. Adesanya Olufemi Paul, aged 61, sentenced to 14 years for theft. Had served eight years.
11. Ife Yusuf, aged 37, was sentenced for human trafficking in 2019. Had served six years at Kirikiri.
12. Daniel Bodunwa, aged 43, was sentenced in 2018 to 10 years for fraudulent intent to forge a land receipt. Had served six years in jail
13. Fidelis Michael, aged 40, sentenced to 5 years for cannabis sativa
14. Suru Akande, aged 52, sentenced to 5 years for cannabis sativa
15. Safiyanu Umar, aged 56, sentenced to 5 years without the option of a fine for possessing 5kg of Cannabis sativa, 2023
16. Dahiru Abdullahi, aged 46, was sentenced in 2016 to 21 years for possession of 3 pistols and had spent 10 years in jail.
17. Hamza Abubakar, aged 37, sentenced to 5 years for Indian hemp (selling), 2022
18. Rabiu Alhassan Dawaki, aged 52, sentenced in 2020 to 7 years for criminal breach of trust.
19. Mujibu Muhammad, aged 30, sentenced in 2022 to 5 years, no option for a fine for cannabis.
20. Emmanuel Eze, aged 49, sentenced in 2022 to 5 years for Heroine.
21. Bala Azika Yahaya, aged 70, sentenced in 2017 to 15 years for cannabis.
22. Lina Kusum Wilson, aged 34, sentenced to death in 2017 for culpable homicide, had spent eight years in jail.
23. Buhari Sani, aged 33, sentenced in 2022 to 5 years for possession of 558 grams of cannabis.
24. Mohammed Musa, aged 27, was sentenced in 2022 to 5 years for possession of 16 grams of cannabis.
25. Muharazu Abubakar, aged 37, sentenced in 2022 to 5 years for selling Indian hemp. Already spent 3 years in Katsina Prison
26. Ibrahim Yusuf, aged 34; jailed 5 years in 2022 for possession of 5.7 grams of Indian hemp.
27. Saad Ahmed Madaki, aged 72; sentenced in 2020 for a 419 offence. Had served 4 years in Kaduna prison
28. Ex-Corporal Michael Bawa, aged 72: sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 2005. Had spent 20 years in Kaduna prison
29. Richard Ayuba, aged 38. Sentenced to 5 years in 2022 for Indian hemp
30. Adam Abubakar, aged 30 and sentenced in 2022 to five years for possession of 2kg of tramadol.
31. Emmanuel Yusuf, aged 34; sentenced in 2022 to 4 years for possession of 2kg of tramadol
32. Edwin Nnazor, aged 60; sentenced in 2018 to 15 years for cannabis. Had spent 6 years, nine months at Zamfara prison
33. Chinedu Stanley, aged 34. Sentenced in 2023 to three years for fake lubricant oil.
34. Joseph Nwanoka, aged 42: sentenced in 2022 to five years for drugs
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