Nigeria, Oct. 20 -- As part of the activities that marked Nigeria's 65th independence anniversary, President Bola Tinubu granted state pardon to 175 persons, some of them posthumously. No doubt, he acted in the exercise of his powers under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, having been guided by the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, which the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, chairs.

The beneficiaries of this gesture include ex-convicts and convicted felons serving their various jail terms. Among them are over 50 traffickers in hard drugs, kidnappers, armed robbers, the corrupt, and murderers. Also included were the Ogoni nine activ...