Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has approved the pardon, release and commutation of sentences of 13 inmates in correctional centres across the state as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary.
The approval, announced on Thursday, October 1, 2026, was disclosed in a statement by the Governor’s media aide, Uche Anichukwu.
According to Anichukwu, Mbah exercised his Prerogative of Mercy under Section 212 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, following consultation with the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy in the state.
The Governor’s decision was conveyed to the Comptroller of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Enugu State Command, by the Chief of Staff to the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Osinachi Nnajieze.
The beneficiaries are Kenneth Ozioko, Moses Saliyat, Promise Ndudim Olung, Chijioke Ugwu, Samuel Ani and Eugene Odo.
Others are Celsus Emeachi, Caleb Jatto, Calistus Eze, Gabriel Onu, Timothy Ani, Ernest Okeke and Ejike Nwodo.
Anichukwu said while some of the inmates were granted pardon and released, others had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
He explained that the Governor’s action was based on reports of ill health and proven reforms in the character of some of the inmates, as well as recommendations from the Correctional Services to the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy.
The council is chaired by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, while its membership includes representatives of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organisation (CAPIO), Catholic Institute for Development, Justice and Peace (CIDJAP), and other bodies in the justice sector.
Anichukwu said the exercise was carried out in accordance with the constitutional provisions governing the Governor’s powers of mercy.
Section 212(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that: “The Governor may (a) Grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by any law of a state a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions; (b) grant to any person a respite, of the execution of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence; (c) substitute a less severe form of punishment for any person for such an offence; or (d) remit the whole or any part of punishment for any punishment imposed on that person for such any offence or of any penalty forfeiture otherwise due to the state on account of such an offence or of any penalty forfeiture otherwise due to the state on account of such an offence.”
The Constitution further provides under Section 212(2) that the Governor’s powers under the subsection shall be exercised after consultation with an advisory council on the prerogative of mercy established by state law.
The latest exercise brings the Governor’s constitutional powers of mercy to bear on inmates whose cases were considered by the relevant state advisory body.
