The Lagos State Government says it has released 397 inmates from correctional facilities across the state between 2023 and 2025 under the Prerogative of Mercy exercise aimed at decongesting custodial centres and promoting rehabilitation.
Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN, disclosed this during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing commemorating the third year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.
Pedro explained that the Prerogative of Mercy allows the governor to grant pardon, release or commutation of sentences based on recommendations by the Lagos State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy.
According to him, the council reviewed 963 applications within the period under review and recommended 397 inmates for release, while nine death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment and one full pardon was granted.
The Attorney-General also disclosed that the state saved over one point two five billion naira through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms deployed by the Directorate of Advisory Services and Judicial Liaison.
He said about three thousand petitions were resolved out of five thousand received during the review period, while the use of mediation and conflict resolution helped reduce prolonged litigation and restore public confidence in the justice system.
Pedro explained that one major intervention involved the resolution of a copyright infringement dispute, where legal mediation reduced a potential liability of over one point two six billion naira to a settlement of three million naira.
He added that the Office of the Administrator-General and Public Trustee resolved more than eight thousand estate-related petitions and facilitated the payment of over seven hundred and sixty-nine million naira to beneficiaries between May 2023 and April 2026.