TINUBU WIPES RECORD CLEAN FOR HERBERT MACAULAY, 174 OTHERS IN MAJOR PARDON MOVE
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The Council of State on Thursday sanctioned the execution of the presidential power of clemency for 175 individuals spanning diverse categories.
This resolution ensued following a briefing by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who communicated President Bola Tinubu’s suggestions derived from the report of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy during Thursday’s Council of State assembly convened at the State House in Abuja.
While the complete identities of the beneficiaries have yet to be disclosed, our correspondent has ascertained that pardons were bestowed upon one of Nigeria’s founding figures, Herbert Macaulay, and the former FCT minister during the Babangida administration, Maj-Gen. Mamman Vatsa (retd).
Individuals from the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four are also recipients of this clemency.
“Herbert Macaulay and Vatsa are the two primary figures on that list,” a source present at the meeting informed our correspondent.
Macaulay, frequently referred to as the “father of Nigerian nationalism,” faced two convictions by colonial authorities in Lagos.
In 1913, while engaged in private practice as a surveyor, he was prosecuted for misappropriating funds from an estate he administered, resulting in a prison sentence; the legitimacy of that prosecution has long been a subject of historical debate.
In 1928, following the publication of provocative assertions in his Lagos Daily News during the Eleko (Oba of Lagos) agitation, he was found guilty of sedition in the notorious “Gunpowder Plot” case and incarcerated for six months with hard labor.
Vatsa, a poet, former FCT minister, and member of the Supreme Military Council, was executed by firing squad on March 5, 1986, after a clandestine military tribunal found him guilty of treason over an alleged coup against then-military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, who was also his childhood companion.
This case has remained contentious for decades, with sporadic calls for a posthumous pardon.
Among the 175 beneficiaries, 82 inmates were awarded a complete presidential pardon, 65 had their sentences mitigated, while seven death sentences were converted to life imprisonment.
In a briefing for State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State articulated, “82 of the inmates received full pardons, 65 had their sentences alleviated, and seven death sentences were transmuted to life imprisonment.
“The resolution reflects the President’s dedication to justice and correctional reform. ”
The meeting, presided over by President Tinubu, also confirmed significant appointments, including Dr. Aminu Yusuf from Niger State as Chairman of the National Population Commission and Tonge Bularafa as Federal Commissioner representing Yobe State within the Commission. Both appointments garnered unanimous consent.
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