Following backlash, the Federal Government has clarified that no inmate has yet been released under the recent Presidential Prerogative of Mercy exercise.
According to the government, the process is still undergoing its final administrative review.
This follows reports that President Bola Tinubu approved pardons for Sir Herbert Macaulay and 174 others, including environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and Major General Mamman Vatsa, who was executed in 1986 for alleged coup plotting.
The list also reportedly included Maryam Sanda, sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, along with other inmates and ex-convicts recommended by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.
However, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in a statement on Thursday, clarified that while the Council of State had endorsed the recommendations for clemency, no formal release had taken place. He said the process remains at the verification and review stage to ensure full compliance with legal and procedural standards.
“The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice wishes to clarify that no inmate approved for clemency under the recent exercise of the President’s power of prerogative of mercy has been released from custody. The process remains at the final administrative stage, which includes a standard review to ensure all names and recommendations fully comply with established legal and procedural requirements before any instrument of release is issued,” the statement read.
Fagbemi explained that the issuance of the release instrument marks the final phase, after which the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service will be authorized to implement the decisions.
He stressed that the review process is standard protocol, reflecting the government’s commitment to transparency, due diligence, 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 those duly qualified benefit from the President’s mercy,” he said, assuring that the public will be informed once all legal and procedural checks are completed.
“The rule of law does not rush; it ensures fairness,” he added.
