By Sarah NEGEDU
President Bola Tinubu has granted a presidential pardon to former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, alongside three other ex-convicts, while extending posthumous clemency to Major General Mamman Vatsa and nationalist Herbert Macaulay.
Lawan, who had chaired the House Committee on Fuel Subsidy in 2012, was convicted in 2021 for soliciting and accepting a $500,000 bribe from oil magnate Femi Otedola and sentenced to seven years in prison before the term was later reduced on appeal.
A by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained that Lswan’s inclusion among those pardoned, followed a review that found him and other ex-convicts to have “demonstrated sufficient remorse” and merited reintegration into society.
The statement issued on Thursday, said President Tinubu also granted posthumous pardons to Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, who was executed in 1986 following a treason charge under the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, and Herbert Macaulay, founding leaders of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, NCNC.
Onanuga explained that Macaulay, “a Nigerian nationalist and co-founder, along with Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, of the NCNC, was the party’s first president, which played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s struggle for independence. However, in 1913, Macaulay was believed unjustly convicted by the British colonialists and banned from public office. Macaulay died in 1946, but the stigma of being an ex-convict was not exorcised from his records until now.”
Also among those pardoned were Mrs. Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, Barrister Hussaini Umar, and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu. The President further extended clemency to Nweke Francis Chibueze, who was serving a life sentence for cocaine trafficking, and Dr. Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 of a 17-year sentence for fraud.
In a broader exercise of his constitutional powers of mercy, President Tinubu granted clemency to 82 inmates, reduced the prison terms of 65 others, and commuted the death sentences of seven inmates to life imprisonment.
The President had formerly approved posthumous pardons for the Ogoni Nine, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. He also approved the award of national honours to the Ogoni Four: Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage.
According to the statement, President Tinubu acted on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, PACPM, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.
Other members include Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi (CON), Prof. Alkasum Abba, Prof. (Mrs.) Nike Y. Sidikat Ijaiya, Justice Augustine B. Utsaha, and Dr. Onwusoro Maduka, who serves as Secretary.
The statement noted that, “A total of 175 inmates were interviewed, and 62 applications were received on behalf of 119 inmates considered by the committee, making it a total of 294.
One hundred and sixty of the inmates interviewed were male, while 15 were female. Eighty-two inmates were recommended for clemency; two (2) for pardon; sixty-five (65) inmates for reduction of their terms of imprisonment, and seven (7) inmates on death row for commutation to life imprisonment.
“Also, fifteen (15) ex-convicts were recommended for Presidential Pardon, eleven (11) of them are deceased (including Ogoni 9). The Ogoni four (4) were also recommended for the Post-Humous National Honours Award.
“On the whole, a total of one hundred and seventy-five (175) beneficiaries are recommended.”
The committee applied criteria such as old age (60 years and above), terminal illness, youth (16 years and below), long-term imprisonment exceeding ten years with good conduct, and demonstrable remorse. It also considered inmates who had acquired vocational skills or received exemplary behaviour recommendations from correctional officers.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, inaugurated the committee on January 15, 2025, as part of ongoing efforts to promote justice, rehabilitation, and human rights within the Nigerian correctional system.
