Global human rights watchdog, the Amnesty International, has strongly condemned the recent clemency and pardons granted by the administration of President Bola Tinubu to individuals convicted of human rights crimes, drug trafficking, illegal mining, among others.
Amnesty International on Monday warned that the move risks entrenching impunity and denying justice to victims.
President Tinubu on Saturday granted sweeping clemency and posthumous pardons to a total of 147 convicts, inmates and deceased Nigerians, including Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Sir Herbert Macaulay, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Professor Magaji Garba, and dozens of illegal miners, drug convicts, and white-collar offenders.
The gesture, which the Presidency described as a mark of “compassion, justice, and national healing,” was recommended by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
In a statement issued on Monday, Amnesty International said, “Amnesty International is deeply concerned by the clemency and pardons granted by the government of President Bola Tinubu to some persons convicted of human rights crimes, as the pardons for these crimes prevent reparations for victims.”
The organisation faulted the process and intent of the government’s clemency exercise, accusing authorities of prioritising perpetrators over victims of abuse.
“The way and manner Nigerian authorities carried out the exercise seemed to prioritise the perpetrators instead of access to justice and effective remedies for the victims and their families,” the statement read.
According to Amnesty International, the decision could have far-reaching consequences for accountability and the rule of law in Nigeria.
“The actions of the government have the potential of undermining the rule of law, preventing the emergence of the truth, the determination of guilt or innocence by a court and reparations for victims, as well as entrenching impunity for human rights crimes,” the group warned.
The human rights body urged President Tinubu to reverse the decision and ensure that justice remains central to the government’s approach to reconciliation and accountability.
“President Bola Tinubu should reconsider his government’s pardons for those convicted of human rights crimes, and uphold and ensure the rights of the victims and their families,” Amnesty International added.
According to the State House statement signed by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on Saturday, 175 names were originally considered, but 147 ultimately received mercy through pardon, commutation of death sentences to life imprisonment, or sentence reduction.
Among those honoured posthumously were Sir Herbert Macaulay, pardoned for a 1913 conviction imposed by British colonial authorities; Major-General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, executed in 1986 for alleged treason under the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida; and the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight members of the Ogoni Nine, executed in 1995 under General Sani Abacha’s dictatorship.
The full list includes: Ken Saro Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawa, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine.
The federal government also listed the Ogoniland community chiefs — Albert Badey, Edward Kobaru, Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage — as victims to be officially honoured.
