By - Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo grants clemency to 101 inmates, with 94 fully pardoned and 7 having sentences remitted
- Decision follows a review by Kogi’s Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, inaugurated September 2, which visited correctional centres and examined case records statewide
- Beneficiaries selected on grounds including age, health, time served, remorse and rehabilitation, with the oldest pardoned inmate aged 91
Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo marked Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary on Thursday by granting executive clemency to 101 inmates and convicts across the state’s correctional facilities, framing the gesture as an act of constitutional compassion rather than a verdict on the seriousness of their offences.
Announcing the decision in his Independence Day address to the state, Ododo said 94 of the beneficiaries received full pardons, while the remaining seven had their sentences remitted. He said the selections were guided by a mix of factors, among them rehabilitation, remorse, humanitarian circumstances, public interest and the broader demands of justice.
A Seven-Member Council Behind the Review
The clemency exercise traces back to a review process led by the Kogi State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, which Ododo inaugurated on September 2. Chaired by the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Muizudeen Yunus Abdullahi, SAN, the seven-member council worked through case records, heard representations from inmates, reviewed correctional reports and conducted visits to correctional centres across Kogi before arriving at its recommendations.
According to the governor, the council weighed a wide set of considerations in each case, including an inmate’s age and health, the nature of the offence committed, time already served, conduct while in custody, demonstrated remorse, rehabilitation and any skills acquired during incarceration, along with family and community support, the interests of victims, and public safety.
Who Was Pardoned
Among those granted mercy on age and medical grounds were Lamidi Mohammed Garuba, 91, the oldest beneficiary, along with Ajagbonna Olufemi David, 72, Yakubu Atabo, Chief Umane Okeme, Saidu Atuluku Yunusa, Hilary Chike Nwaeze, Ebenezer Mopah, Abdullahi Jibril and Usman Ismaila.
The seven inmates whose sentences were remitted rather than fully pardoned were identified as Tunde Adura, Olusaye Moses Abayomi, Abu Mowde, Zakariyau Baba, Michael Ojonugwa, Rami Sadiq and Salawudeen Sanusi.
A Message Attached to the Gesture
Ododo was careful to frame the pardons as conditional on future conduct rather than an erasure of what the beneficiaries had done, telling them directly that a second opportunity carries greater responsibility. He also used the occasion to appeal to parents, traditional rulers, religious leaders, community figures and youth organisations to join state efforts to curb crime, describing the fight against criminality as a collective struggle that government cannot win on its own.
