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By Myke Agunwa
President Bola Tinubu has approved the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy for 175 persons across various categories, including Nigeria’s foremost nationalist, Herbert Macaulay, and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Maj.-Gen. Mamman Vatsa (retd).
The approval was endorsed by the Council of State on Thursday following a presentation by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), during its meeting at the State House, Abuja.
Fagbemi, who presented the recommendations on behalf of the President, said the list was drawn from the report of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, which reviewed requests for clemency and pardon in line with constitutional provisions.
Although the complete list of beneficiaries has not yet been made public, sources at the meeting confirmed that notable historical figures such as Herbert Macaulay and Mamman Vatsa were among those pardoned. Also listed were members of the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four, whose cases have remained subjects of public debate for decades.
Macaulay, often described as the father of Nigerian nationalism, was twice convicted by the British colonial authorities in Lagos. In 1913, while working as a private surveyor, he was prosecuted and imprisoned over allegations of mismanaging funds from an estate under his care — a charge historians have long argued was politically motivated. He later became one of the most influential voices against colonial rule, founding the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) in 1923.
Maj.-Gen. Mamman Vatsa, a poet, writer, and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was executed in 1986 after being accused of involvement in a coup plot against the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. His execution has remained one of the most controversial episodes in Nigeria’s military history, with calls for his posthumous exoneration persisting for decades.
The inclusion of Macaulay, Vatsa, and members of the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four in the presidential pardon list marks a symbolic gesture of reconciliation and national healing, decades after their controversial convictions.
The prerogative of mercy, as provided under Section 175 of the Nigerian Constitution, empowers the President to grant pardons, commute sentences, or remit penalties in deserving cases, often upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.
President Tinubu’s approval follows a long-standing tradition of Nigerian leaders using the constitutional power of clemency to address historical injustices and promote national unity.