Mutfwang grants absolute pardon to 134 prison inmates on Independence Day

Plateau State governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, has exercised the prerogative of mercy entrenched in the Nigerian Constitution by granting an “absolute pardon” to 134 prison inmates as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary on October 1, 2026.

Mutfwang, who announced the pardon in his speech to mark the country’s Independence Day anniversary, commuted the sentences of four inmates on death row to life imprisonment, while the others were granted absolute pardons.

The governor said the gesture followed consultations with the State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, stressing the need for justice, humanity and hope as Nigerians reflect on the nation’s journey.

In the goodwill message signed by the governor’s Director of Press Affairs, Bere Gyang, Mutfwang said the pardoned inmates had exhibited remorse and become model prisoners, with many of them undertaking reforms that distinguished them.

Bere gave the names of the death-row inmates whose sentences were commuted to life imprisonment as Zuhumnan Musa, Jeremiah Aese, Pam Lang and Thoma Danboyi.