Tinubu grants prerogative of of mercy to 175

—959 people approved for national honours

—Appoints Dr. Aminu Yusuf as NPC Chairman

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — THE National Council of States on Thursday, approved President Bola Tinubu’s request for the granting of prerogative of mercy to 175 inmates across the country.

The gesture is aimed at decongesting correctional facilities and promoting restorative justice.

Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Council meeting explained that the gesture reflects the administration’s commitment to tempering justice with mercy, while ensuring that deserving inmates are given a second chance to reintegrate into society.

Senator Sani explained that the Council considered a report from the Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, presented by the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF and Minister of Justice, which recommended various clemency measures.

According to him, out of the 175 beneficiaries, 82 inmates were granted presidential pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

He, however, declined to provide the names of the beneficiaries.

The presidential prerogative of mercy, enshrined in Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), empowers the President to grant pardons, reprieves, or commute sentences.

It is typically exercised after careful consideration of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, which assesses factors such as age, ill health, good behaviour, or cases of miscarriage of justice.

Governor Sani further stated that the Council took key decisions on national appointments, approving Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Dr. Aminu Yusuf as Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), following recommendations by President Tinubu.

The Council further ratified the appointment of Alhaji Tonge Beta Bularafa as Federal Commissioner representing Yobe State at the NPC.

Briefing journalists, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, who also chairs the Progressive Governors’ Forum, described the nomination of the new INEC Chairman, Amupitan, as a constitutional responsibility diligently discharged by the President.

He said the appointment received unanimous endorsement, with speakers hailing the nominee as “a serious-minded scholar, a man of integrity, tested and trusted, who has never participated in partisan politics.”

The National Council of State meeting was virtually attended by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida and former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Also in attendance were former Chief Justices of Nigeria, CJNs, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, state governors, and other statutory members of the Council.

Thursday’s endorsement by the Council of State, comprising former Heads of State, state governors, and other statutory members, is expected to pave the way for the formal release or re-sentencing of the affected inmates in the coming weeks.

The National Council of State also approved President Tinubu’s request for conferment of national honour awards on 959 eminent people.

The Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office, Dr. Emanso Umobong, disclosed that out of the number, 824 successful applications were recommended and another 125 special awards.

Although, she did not disclosed the full list, she said some like the Ogoni nine were posthumous.

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