President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted a posthumous pardon to Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, the poet-soldier executed in 1986 over a treason charge.
In a press statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, the clemency was among several historic pardons and commutations approved by the National Council of State during its meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
Vatsa, a celebrated writer and one-time Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was executed alongside other officers during the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. His posthumous pardon marks the first official acknowledgment of the controversial nature of his conviction, widely regarded as politically motivated.
Also receiving a posthumous pardon was Herbert Macaulay, the revered nationalist, engineer, and co-founder—alongside Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe—of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). Macaulay, unjustly convicted by British colonial authorities in 1913 and barred from public office, died in 1946 with the weight of that stigma still unlifted. President Tinubu’s pardon formally restores his honour nearly eight decades later.
The President approved a full posthumous pardon for the Ogoni Nine—Ken Saro-Wiwa, Baribor Bera, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine—executed in 1995 under the military regime of General Sani Abacha. The President also conferred national honours on the Ogoni Four—Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage—for their roles in peacebuilding and environmental justice in the Niger Delta.
Beyond the posthumous recognitions, Tinubu extended clemency to several living Nigerians, including Farouk Lawan, former House of Representatives member; Mrs. Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia; Barrister Hussaini Umar; and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu, to enable their reintegration into society after demonstrating genuine remorse.
Other beneficiaries include Nweke Francis Chibueze, serving a life sentence for cocaine offences, and Dr. Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 out of his 17-year term for fraud.