Deborah Akinyosoye
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 fund mismanagement from an estate under his care , a charge that historians have long argued was politically motivated.