President Bola Tinubu has granted a posthumous pardon to the late Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, who was executed in 1986 after being convicted on a treason charge during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said Vatsa, a renowned poet and writer, was among seventeen individuals who received presidential pardons following the endorsement of the National Council of State, which met in Abuja.
According to the statement, the President acted on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.
Also granted a posthumous pardon was Herbert Macaulay, Nigerian nationalist and co-founder alongside Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC).
In addition, President Tinubu approved pardons for four former convicts, including former House of Representatives member Farouk Lawan, Mrs. Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, Barrister Hussaini Umar, and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu, among others.
Written by Ngozi Okpala