The National Council of State on Thursday endorsed the exercise of presidential prerogative of mercy by President Bola Tinubu, granting clemency to 175 inmates across the country.

The Presidency said the gesture is aimed at decongesting correctional facilities and promoting restorative justice.

The move, which came during the Council’s meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, reflects the administration’s commitment to tempering justice with mercy, while ensuring that deserving inmates are given a second chance to reintegrate into society.

Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State explained that the Council considered a report from the Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, presented by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, which recommended various clemency measures.

According to him, out of the 175 beneficiaries, 82 inmates were granted presidential pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

He, however, declined to provide the names of the beneficiaries.

The presidential prerogative of mercy, enshrined in Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), empowers the President to grant pardons, reprieves, or commute sentences.

It is typically exercised after careful consideration of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, which assesses factors such as age, ill health, good behaviour, or cases of miscarriage of justice.

Thursday’s endorsement by the Council of State, comprising former Heads of State, state governors, and other statutory members, is expected to pave the way for the formal release or re-sentencing of the affected inmates in the coming weeks.

The Council also took key decisions on national appointments, approving Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Dr. Aminu Isa as Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), following recommendations by President Tinubu.

Briefing journalists, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, who also chairs the Progressive Governors’ Forum, described Amupitan’s nomination as a constitutional responsibility diligently discharged by the President.

He said the appointment received unanimous endorsement, with speakers hailing the nominee as “a serious-minded scholar, a man of integrity, tested and trusted, who has never participated in partisan politics.”

The Council further ratified the appointment of Alhaji Tonga Beta Bularafa as Federal Commissioner representing Yobe State at the NPC.

The meeting was attended by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar, state governors, and other statutory members of the Council.