The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Lagos Division, has ordered the Nigerian Army to immediately reinstate 70 soldiers who were dismissed after being convicted by courts-martial in 2014, holding that the unconditional presidential pardon granted to them in 2022 restored their legal status and extinguished the legal consequences of their convictions and dismissals.
Delivering judgment in Suit No. NICN/LA/54/2023 on July 20, 2026, Justice S.A. Yelwa held that the presidential pardon granted by former President Muhammadu Buhari under Section 175 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) effectively removed the legal basis upon which the soldiers were dismissed from service.
The suit was instituted by the 70 soldiers against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) after the military allegedly failed to reinstate them despite the presidential pardon issued in 2022.
The claimants, represented by Falana & Falana Chambers, argued that the unconditional pardon not only forgave the offences for which they were convicted but also nullified every legal consequence flowing from those convictions, including their dismissal from the Nigerian Army. They consequently sought reinstatement and payment of salaries, allowances and other entitlements dating back to December 17, 2014.
The soldiers were among military personnel convicted by various courts-martial in 2014 on charges including conspiracy and mutiny. Although they were initially sentenced to death, their sentences were later commuted to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Following the completion of their prison terms, former President Buhari granted them an unconditional presidential pardon through the Instrument of Grant of Pardon, 2022, which was published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette on July 29, 2022.
After receiving the pardon, the soldiers, through their solicitors, wrote to the Chief of Army Staff on November 7, 2022, requesting reinstatement and payment of their outstanding entitlements. Although the Army acknowledged receipt of the correspondence, no action was taken, prompting the institution of the suit.
Counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Omobolanle Aina, opposed the claims, arguing that while a presidential pardon forgives an offence and restores certain civil rights, it does not erase the historical fact of conviction or automatically entitle a beneficiary to reinstatement into public service. The Federal Government also contended that the claimants could not lawfully claim salaries for periods during which they were not in active service.
Notably, the Chief of Army Staff neither entered an appearance nor filed a defence in the proceedings.
In resolving the dispute, Justice Yelwa held that the official gazette clearly established that the claimants were beneficiaries of the presidential pardon granted on July 18, 2022.
The court found that the soldiers’ dismissal from the Army was not an independent administrative sanction but a direct consequence of their convictions by the courts-martial. Consequently, once the President exercised his constitutional prerogative of mercy, the legal foundation for the dismissals ceased to exist.
According to the court, allowing the dismissals to remain in force despite the unconditional pardon would undermine the constitutional powers vested in the President under Section 175 of the Constitution.
Justice Yelwa further described the Army’s failure to act on the soldiers’ request for reinstatement as an administrative omission that justified judicial intervention.
On the issue of monetary claims, however, the court drew a distinction between the period before and after the presidential pardon.
Justice Yelwa rejected the claim for salaries and allowances covering the period between December 17, 2014, and July 17, 2022, holding that the soldiers were not entitled to remuneration while they were serving prison terms and were no longer rendering service to the Nigerian Army.
The court observed that the presidential pardon did not expressly provide for retrospective salary payments and that the claimants failed to establish any contractual or legal basis for such relief.
Accordingly, the court ruled that the claimants became entitled to salaries, allowances and other employment benefits from July 18, 2022, the effective date of the presidential pardon.
Justice Yelwa consequently ordered the Chief of Army Staff to immediately reinstate all 70 soldiers and directed the defendants to pay all outstanding salaries, allowances and other entitlements accruing from July 18, 2022, until the date of their formal reinstatement.
The court, however, dismissed the claim for salaries and allowances covering the period prior to the presidential pardon and made no order as to costs.
The decision is expected to become an important judicial authority on the scope of the President’s constitutional power of mercy, particularly its implications for employment rights arising from convictions by courts-martial and the legal consequences of an unconditional presidential pardon.