President Bola Tinubu has approved a revised list of convicts granted clemency under the 2025 Instrument of Presidential Prerogative of Mercy, following public criticism of the original list.
The updated list, dated October 21, 2025, and personally signed by the President, includes 86 inmates from correctional facilities across Nigeria. Their sentences were either reduced or commuted in accordance with Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The document, titled “Reduced Terms of Imprisonment and Sentence, 2025” and sighted by PUNCH Online, shows that the commuted sentences cover a wide range of offences, including manslaughter, culpable homicide, drug trafficking, unlawful possession of firearms, conspiracy, and illegal mining.
Homicide and Manslaughter Cases
• Yusuf Owolabi (36), convicted of manslaughter in 2015 and originally sentenced to life imprisonment at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri, will now serve 15 years for “educational improvement, remorsefulness and acquisition of vocational skills.”
• Ifeanyi Eze (33), sentenced to life for manslaughter in 2021, also had his sentence reduced to 15 years.
• Maryam Sanda (37), convicted of culpable homicide in 2020 and sentenced to death by hanging, will now serve 12 years on “compassionate grounds, the best interest of her children, good conduct and remorsefulness.”
• Markus Yusuf (41), sentenced to 13 years for culpable homicide in 2023, had his term reduced to 8 years due to ill health.
• Alhaji Abubakar Tanko (61), originally sentenced to 30 years in 2018, now faces 20 years.
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Drug and Narcotics Offences
• Patrick Mensah (40) had a 17-year sentence for drug offences in 2015 reduced to 13 years.
• Several other convicts, including Obi Edwin Chukwu (43), Tunde Balogun (32), Lima Pereira Erick Diego (27), Uchegbu Emeka Michael (37), Salawu Adebayo Samsudeen (46), and Napolo (61), convicted for drug trafficking between 2015–2017, had 15-year terms reduced to 12 years for “remorsefulness and vocational skill acquisition.”
• Dias Santos Marela Christiana (44), convicted of importing cocaine in 2017, will serve 12 years due to “remorsefulness and deportation.”
• Cannabis-related offenders such as Isaac Justina (40), Aishat Kehinde (38), Helen Solomon (68), Okoye Tochukwu (43), and Ugwuze Paul (38) received reduced terms ranging from 3 to 7 years.
Financial and Fraud Offences
• Mustapha Ahmed (46) – criminal breach of trust; 7-year sentence reduced to 5 years.
• Innocent Brown Idiong (60) – possession of Indian hemp; 10-year term cut to 6 years.
• Inibong Imayen Nuikidem (46) – obtaining money by false pretense; 7 years reduced to 5 years.
• Buka Adamu (40) – advance fee fraud; 20-year sentence reduced to 9 years.
• Other convicts, including Ada Audu (72), Chief Jonathan Alatoru (66), Umannah Ekatte (70), and Utom Thompson Udoaka (60), had terms reduced based on age, remorse, and good conduct.
Firearms and Related Offences
• Abubakar Mamman (38) – possession of AK-47 rifle in 2020; 10-year sentence reduced to 7 years.
• Muhammed Bello Musa (35) – firearms possession; 10 years reduced to 7 years.
• Nnamdi Anene (67) – illegal firearms dealing; life sentence commuted to 20 years.
• Alhaji Ibrahim Hameed (71) – illegal property possession; 7 years reduced to 5 years.
Maritime, Conspiracy, and Unlawful Mining Offences
• Ten convicts, including Bright Agbedeyi (46) and Babangida Saliu (35), convicted in 2020 for conspiracy to hijack fishing vessels, had their 12-year sentences reduced to 8 years, with N1 million fines waived “based on remorsefulness and impecuniosity.”
• At least 45 inmates at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Agodi, Oyo State, convicted of unlawful mining in January 2024, had three-year sentences reduced to two years. The reductions were granted for “remorsefulness, good conduct and a letter of undertaking dated April 22, 2025,” reportedly facilitated by Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis to support rehabilitation and post-release empowerment.
The Presidential pardon, guided by Section 175 of the Constitution, empowers the President to grant clemency or reduce sentences for convicts, either free or under lawful conditions. The revised 2025 list highlights the administration’s exercise of this constitutional prerogative while responding to public scrutiny of the initial pardons.