- President Bola Tinubu has announced the plan to grant the presidential prerogative of mercy for Nigeria’s foremost nationalist, Herbert Macaulay
- Lateef Fagbemi, the AGF and Minister of Justice, made the presentation during the Council of State meeting at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday, October 9
- Aside from Macaulay, Tinubu also announced the Maj-Gen. Mamman Vatsa (retd), a childhood friend of former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, the Ogoni heroes and over 100 others
President Bola Tinubu’s proposal to grant the presidential prerogative of mercy for 175 Nigerians in different categories before the Council of State was approved on Thursday, October 9.
It was learnt that the approval came after the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, conveyed Tinubu’s recommendations, which were based on the report of the advisory committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, during the council meeting at the presidential villa in Abuja.
Source: Twitter
List of Nigerian heroes Tinubu granted pardons
While the presidency was yet to publish the full names of the beneficiaries, The Punch reported that Tinubu granted pardons to one of the founding fathers of Nigeria, Herbert Macaulay, and former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the regime of Ibrahim Babangida, Maj-Gen. Mamman Vatsa (retd).
Also included in the report are members of the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four.
A source who is privy to the development disclosed that “Herbert Macaulay and Vatsa are among the two major ones on that list.” Macaulay is often referred to as the father of Nigerian nationalism. He was convicted by the colonial government on two occasions.
Why was Herbert Macaulay convicted?
Macaulay was first tried in 1913 when he was practising as a private surveyor for misappropriation of funds from an estate he managed, and was sentenced to prison. Historians have long debated the fairness of his prosecution.
Also in 1928, the Nigerian hero was convicted of sedition after his Lagos Daily News made an incendiary claim during the agitation of the Eleko (Oba of Lagos) and the so-called “gunpowder plot. He was jailed with hard labour for six months.
Another prominent Nigerian being granted a presidential pardon was Vatsa, a poet, an ex-minister of the FCT and a member of the Supreme Military Council, who was executed on March 5, 1986, by a firing squad. He was convicted of treason by a secret military tribunal after he was accused of plotting against the then-military head of state and childhood friend, Babangida.
For decades, the prosecution of Vatsa has remained controversial. There have been periodic calls to grant him a posthumous pardon.
Source: Twitter
Tinubu rejects two bills passed by Senate
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu has given reasons for refusing to sign two bills forwarded to him by the Senate into law.
According to the president, the first bill was the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (Establishment) Bill, 2025.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who read Tinubu’s letter, also noted that the president did not assent to the National Assembly Library Fund bill with a reason.
Source: Legit.ng
