ABUJA, Oct 29 (The African Portal) – Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said on Wednesday that President Bola Tinubu had reviewed the list of 175 convicts initially recommended for presidential pardon to ensure that only qualified persons benefited from the exercise.
Fagbemi said the review, which has now been concluded, was undertaken to ensure fairness and adherence to due process.
“During this final review, a few persons earlier recommended were found not to have met the necessary requirements and were accordingly delisted, while in some other cases, sentences were reviewed and reduced to reflect fairness, justice, and the spirit of the exercise,” Fagbemi said in a statement.
A final list sighted by The African Portal showed that 86 convicts had their sentences reduced by the president. Among them was Maryam Sanda, daughter-in-law of a former chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who had been sentenced to death for the 2017 murder of her husband, Bilyamin Bello.
An Abuja High Court had convicted and sentenced Sanda to death by hanging in January 2020. With the new presidential approval, her sentence has been reduced to 12 years on what officials described as “compassionate grounds” and in recognition of her “good conduct, remorse, and positive influence on fellow inmates.”
Other beneficiaries included Chukwukelu Sunday Calistus, whose life sentence for drug-related offences was reduced to 20 years after serving 11 years; Yusuf Owolabi, who had his life sentence for manslaughter reduced to 15 years; and Ifeanyi Eze, who also received a sentence reduction to 15 years.
Ibrahim Sulaiman, convicted of armed robbery and illegal firearm possession, will now serve 15 years instead of life imprisonment, while Samson Ajayi saw his 15-year term cut to 10. Abubakar Tanko’s 30-year sentence for culpable homicide was reduced to 20 years.
The list also included convicts sentenced for offences such as unlawful mining, forgery, fraud, conspiracy, and drug possession. Officials said the beneficiaries had demonstrated remorse, good conduct, and a willingness to reform through education and vocational training.
In three additional lists, the government said 15 persons were granted clemency, another 15 — including historical figures Ken Saro-Wiwa and Herbert Macaulay — were posthumously pardoned, and four others had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Fagbemi said the review reflected Tinubu’s effort to balance justice with compassion and promote a humane correctional system.
“The review was undertaken with meticulous commitment to due process to reinforce the administration’s broader commitment to justice reform and humane correctional practices,” he said.
The president also directed that the Secretariat of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy be moved from the Ministry of Special Duties to the Ministry of Justice. Fagbemi added that new guidelines would be introduced to ensure future pardons follow strict legal and procedural standards.
This story was written with additional files from Vanguard
