President Bola Tinubu on October 9, 2025, granted presidential pardon to Herbert Macaulay, Mamman Vatsa, and Farouk Lawan, alongside 14 others, following the approval of the National Council of State.
The announcement was made through a statement issued on Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president on information and strategy.
Some netizens have expressed shock and concern over the inclusion of Herbert Macaulay in the pardon’s list.
A netizen simply known as Sola Adekitan questioned how 81-year-old Herbert Macaulay, who died on May 7, 1946, before Nigeria’s independence, could be included on the pardon list.
Herbert Macaulay was a surveyor, journalist, architect, and Nigerian nationalist. He was a key figure in Nigerian politics. He reportedly led the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) on a nationwide campaign tour.
WITHIN NIGERIA reflects on the trials of Herbert Macaulay and recounts severe allegations leveled against him, which eventually led to him being barred from running for public office.
A check by WITHIN NIGERIA revealed that the colonial authority in Lagos convicted him twice for ‘misappropriation of funds’ and ‘sedition’.
CONVICTED FOR MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUND?
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that Herbert Macaulay, who attended the Royal Institute of British Architects, joined the colonial service as a surveyor of Crown Lands. He left the colonial service and started a private practice as a surveyor and architect.
In the course of practice, Macaulay reportedly faced some financial difficulties and allegedly misappropriated funds from an estate he served as executor for.
Macaulay was arraigned and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment after his actions were reportedly uncovered by the authorities.
CONVICTED FOR SEDITION?
Findings by WITHIN NIGERIA revealed that the infamous “Gunpowder Plot Case” led to the second conviction of Herbert Macaulay.
In June 1928, the Privy Council decided that the exiled Oba Eshugbayi Eleko could apply for a writ of habeas corpus from one judge to another.
This development excited Lagos Indigenes because it indicated that the exiled Oba would be reinstated.
It was gathered that Macaulay’s Lagos Daily News published a story (untrue and arguably misleading) that the British colonial government in Lagos planned to blow up Oba Eleko’s vehicle in response to the Privy Council’s decision.
A further check showed that Macaulay, then a 64-year-old man, was sentenced to six months in prison at Broad Street Prison with hard labor without the option for a fine over the Gunpowder Plot Case.
ARGUMENTS?
Some researchers and historians argued that Herbert Macaulay’s conviction for misappropriation of funds was spiteful and personal.
They contended that Robert Irving, the prosecuting counsel, was Herbert Macaulay’s tenant who may have had a personal vendetta.
Another report claimed that on December 3rd, 1912, Macaulay secured a court order evicting Robert Irving.
There were allegations that Macaulay’s counsel struggled to mount a strong defense throughout the trial.
His attorneys were unable to locate the magistrate anywhere in Lagos to get bail.
THE PARDON?
President Bola Tinubu granted presidential pardon to Herbert Macaulay and 16 others following the approval of the National Council of State.
Macaulay, a nationalist and co-founder of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), also received a posthumous pardon.
The full statement reads:
Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, sentenced to death over a treason charge in 1986, has received a posthumous pardon from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Vatsa, a poet, was among the 17 people who received presidential pardons following the endorsement of the National Council of State, which met in Abuja on Thursday.
President Tinubu also granted a posthumous pardon to Herbert Macaulay, a Nigerian nationalist and co-founder, along with Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). Macaulay was the party’s first president, which played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s struggle for independence.
However, in 1913, Macaulay was unjustly convicted by the British colonialists and banned from public office. Macaulay died in 1946, but the stigma of being an ex-convict was not exorcised from his records until now.
President Tinubu also pardoned four former convicts, including former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, Mrs Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, Barrister Hussaini Umar and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu. They were pardoned to enable them to integrate into society, having demonstrated sufficient remorse. Nweke Francis Chibueze, serving a life sentence for cocaine, was pardoned, along with Dr Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 out of his 17-year sentence for fraud.
The Ogoni Nine: Ken Saro Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel and John Kpuine were formally pardoned. At the same time, the President awarded national honours to the Ogoni Four- Chief Albert Badey, Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage.
In exercising his constitutional power of mercy, President Tinubu granted clemency to 82 inmates and reduced the prison terms of 65 others. He gave a reprieve for seven inmates on the death row by commuting their sentences to life imprisonment.
President Tinubu acted on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM). The committee has 12 members, with the Attorney General and Justice Minister, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, as chairman. The other members are Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi, CON; Prof. Alkasum Abba; Prof. (Mrs.) Nike Y. Sidikat Ijaiya; Justice Augustine B. Utsaha; and the Secretary, Dr Onwusoro Maduka, a former Permanent Secretary.
The institutional representatives on the Committee are: the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs; representatives of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Service, National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The committee’s final report was presented to the Council of State on Thursday in Abuja, as required by the constitution.
The report noted, “A total of 175 inmates were interviewed, and 62 applications were received on behalf of 119 inmates considered by the committee, making it a total of 294.
“One hundred and sixty of the inmates interviewed were male, while 15 were female. Eighty-two inmates were recommended for clemency; two (2) for pardon; sixty-five (65) inmates for reduction of their terms of imprisonment, and seven (7) inmates on death row for commutation to life imprisonment.
“Also, fifteen (15) ex-convicts were recommended for Presidential Pardon, eleven (11) of them are deceased (including Ogoni 9). The Ogoni four (4) were also recommended for the Post-Humous National Honours Award.
“On the whole, a total of one hundred and seventy-five (175) beneficiaries are recommended.’’
The committee had acted on the following criteria: old age (60 years and above); ill health likely to terminate in death; young persons (16 years and below); long-term convicts who have served prison terms of 10 years or more with a good record; and convicts serving three years or more
“Those who have been in Custodial centres, learnt sustainable vocational trades capable of keeping them away from crime; those who are adjudged remorseful; those who Correctional Officers recommended for exemplary behaviour and Nigerian prisoners deported from other countries.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, inaugurated the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM) on January 15, 2025, as a significant step towards promoting justice, rehabilitation, and human rights in Nigeria.
