Search
  1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Nigeria

President pardons 15 ex-prisoners

    ABIDJAN

    Nigeria's National Council of State approved on Thursday unconditional presidential pardons for 15 former prisoners, news organisations reported.

    They include the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Salisu Buhari, journalists, two prominent human rights activists and a reformed bank robber, AFP reported. The pardon restores the civil rights of the former prisoners, who had already been released.

    The best know human rights activist among them, Beko Ransome-Kuti, dismissed the gesture as an insult. "I had not done anything to warrant being convicted in the first place so the case of a presidential pardon does not arise at all," he told AFP.

    All but Buhari had been granted a conditional pardon by the last outgoing military administration, PANA reported.

    The council which approved Olusegun Obasanjo's motion comprises the president, the nation's 36 state governors and former heads of state.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join