The Federal Government has clarified that no inmate has been released under the recent Presidential Prerogative of Mercy, contrary to widespread reports.
According to the government, the process is still undergoing its final administrative review to ensure compliance with all legal and procedural standards.
The clarification follows reports that President Bola Tinubu had approved clemency for 175 individuals, including nationalist Sir Herbert Macaulay, environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Major General Mamman Vatsa, who was executed in 1986 for alleged coup plotting. The list was also said to include 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, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in a statement on Thursday, explained that while the Council of State had endorsed the recommendations, no formal release has yet been effected.
“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 statement read.
“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.”
Fagbemi noted that the issuance of the instrument of release represents the final phase of the process, after which the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service will be authorized to implement the decisions.
He emphasized that the ongoing review reflects the government’s commitment to transparency, due diligence, and adherence to 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,” the minister said, assuring that the public will be duly informed once all checks are concluded.
“The rule of law does not rush; it ensures fairness,” he added.