ABUJA: The Federal Government has clarified that no inmate has been released under the recent Presidential Prerogative of Mercy announced by President Bola Tinubu, explaining that the process is still undergoing final administrative and legal review.
The clarification came following reports that the President had approved clemency for 175 persons, including prominent Nigerians such as nationalist Sir Herbert Macaulay, environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the late Major-General Mamman Vatsa, who was executed in 1986 over alleged coup plotting.
Others listed among the beneficiaries were Maryam Sanda, convicted in 2020 for the murder of her husband, as well as several inmates and ex-convicts whose sentences were commuted or reduced based on recommendations by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.
However, in a statement on Thursday, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), stated that the exercise is still at the verification and review stage, noting that no official instruments of release have been issued.
The Office of the Attorney-General wishes to clarify that no inmate approved for clemency under the President’s power of prerogative of mercy has been released from custody, Fagbemi said.
He explained that while the Council of State has approved the recommendations for clemency, a final detailed review is required to ensure that every name complies with legal and procedural standards before the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service can act.
Fagbemi maintained that the review phase is standard protocol, reflecting government’s commitment to transparency, due process, and the rule of law.
There is no delay in the process; it is simply following the law to the letter to ensure that only that duly qualified benefit from the President’s mercy, he added.
The Attorney-General commended the public for its interest in the clemency process, describing such scrutiny as evidence of Nigerians’ commitment to justice and good governance.
He assured that the public would be duly informed once the review is completed and the formal instruments of release are issued.
As soon as all legal and procedural checks are concluded, the public will be duly informed. The rule of law does not rush; it ensures fairness, Fagbemi said.
The Presidential Prerogative of Mercy is a constitutional power vested in the President to grant pardon, reprieve, or commutation of sentences to deserving convicts, based on recommendations by the advisory committee and subsequent approval by the Council of State.
