By Reborn Jude
National News
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Lagos, has ordered the immediate reinstatement of 70 Nigerian Army personnel who were convicted by courts-martial in 2014 but were later granted an unconditional presidential pardon by former President Muhammadu Buhari. The court also directed the Nigerian Army to pay the affected soldiers all salaries, allowances and other emoluments accruing from July 18, 2022, until the date they are physically reinstated.
In the landmark judgment delivered by Justice S.A. Yelwa on July 20, 2026, the court held that the presidential pardon granted under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution completely wiped out the soldiers’ convictions, sentences and dismissals from the Nigerian Army. According to the court, the unconditional pardon restored their legal status and entitled them to return to service.
The suit, marked NICN/LA/54/2023, was instituted by the 70 soldiers against the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Chief of Army Staff after military authorities allegedly failed to act on their request for reinstatement despite the presidential pardon. Through their lawyers, Falana & Falana Chambers, the soldiers sought declarations that the pardon erased their convictions and dismissals, an order compelling their reinstatement, and payment of all outstanding salaries and allowances dating back to December 17, 2014.
The affected soldiers were among Nigerian Army personnel tried before various courts-martial in 2014 over offences bordering on conspiracy and mutiny. Although they were initially sentenced to death, their punishment was later commuted to 10 years’ imprisonment following an administrative review. After serving their prison terms, former President Buhari exercised his constitutional powers under Section 175 of the Constitution by granting them an unconditional presidential pardon through the Instrument of Grant of Pardon published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette on July 29, 2022.
Following the pardon, the soldiers, through their legal representatives, wrote to the Chief of Army Staff on November 7, 2022, requesting reinstatement and payment of their outstanding salaries and allowances. Although Army Headquarters acknowledged receipt of the letter two days later, the military authorities allegedly failed to respond, forcing the soldiers to seek judicial intervention.
At the hearing, lead counsel for the claimants, Funmi Falana, SAN, argued that the presidential pardon extinguished every legal consequence of the convictions, including the soldiers’ dismissal from service. She maintained that under Section 175 of the Constitution, a full presidential pardon restores all rights and privileges lost as a result of a conviction, effectively making the beneficiaries “new men” in the eyes of the law.
The claimants further argued that since their dismissal arose directly from the courts-martial convictions, the legal basis for removing them from service ceased to exist once the presidential pardon was granted. They therefore urged the court to compel the Nigerian Army to reinstate them and pay all salaries and allowances lost since their dismissal in 2014.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, represented by Mrs. Omobolanle Aina, opposed the claims. The Federal Government argued that while a presidential pardon forgives an offence and restores civil rights, it does not erase the historical fact of a conviction or automatically guarantee reinstatement into public service. Government counsel also contended that salaries could not be paid for periods during which the soldiers neither worked nor rendered any service to the Nigerian Army.
However, the Chief of Army Staff neither entered appearance nor filed any defence throughout the proceedings. Justice Yelwa noted that the Army failed to challenge the evidence presented by the claimants or explain why their request for reinstatement had been ignored despite the presidential pardon.
After reviewing the evidence before the court, Justice Yelwa held that the Official Gazette constituted conclusive proof that all 70 claimants were beneficiaries of the presidential pardon granted on July 18, 2022. The court ruled that the dismissals were direct consequences of the courts-martial convictions and not separate administrative decisions capable of surviving the presidential pardon.
The judge further held that allowing the dismissals to remain in force after the unconditional pardon would amount to subordinating the President’s constitutional powers to administrative actions of the military authorities. According to the court, although reinstatement requires administrative implementation by the Nigerian Army, the soldiers had acquired an enforceable legal right to return to service because the constitutional barrier to their employment had been removed.
On the issue of salaries, the court declined the soldiers’ request for payment covering the period between December 17, 2014, and July 17, 2022. Justice Yelwa held that although the pardon erased the legal consequences of the convictions, it did not create a retrospective entitlement to salaries for years during which the soldiers were imprisoned and did not perform military duties. The judge also noted that the Instrument of Grant of Pardon did not provide for payment of retrospective salaries.
Consequently, the court declared that the soldiers’ entitlement to salaries, allowances and other emoluments could only commence from July 18, 2022, the effective date of the presidential pardon. Justice Yelwa therefore ordered the Chief of Army Staff to immediately reinstate all 70 soldiers with effect from that date and directed the Nigerian Army to pay all outstanding salaries and allowances accruing from July 18, 2022, until the date of their actual physical reinstatement.
The National Industrial Court, however, dismissed the claim for salaries and allowances covering the period from December 17, 2014, to July 17, 2022, and made no order as to costs. The judgment is being regarded as one of the most significant judicial pronouncements on the constitutional scope of the President’s prerogative of mercy and its effect on the employment rights of members of the Armed Forces convicted by courts-martial.
