A Nigerian court has delivered a landmark judgment with far-reaching implications for military justice and the constitutional powers of the presidency, ordering the immediate reinstatement of 70 soldiers who were dismissed from the Nigerian Army after being convicted by military courts over a decade ago.
The National Industrial Court (NICN) in Lagos ruled that the unconditional presidential pardon granted to the soldiers in 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari effectively wiped away the legal consequences of their convictions, making their continued dismissal from military service unconstitutional.
Justice S.A. Yelwa, who delivered the judgment, held that once the presidential pardon took effect under Section 175 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, the legal foundation for the soldiers’ dismissal ceased to exist. According to the court, the pardon restored the affected personnel to the legal position they occupied before their convictions.
The case was brought before the court by the 70 soldiers after Nigerian military authorities allegedly failed to act on repeated requests for their reinstatement despite the presidential pardon. The former soldiers argued that although they had regained their freedom and received full clemency, they remained excluded from military service without any legal justification.
The soldiers were among military personnel convicted by courts-martial in 2014 on charges including conspiracy and mutiny. They were initially sentenced to death, but their punishment was later reduced to 10 years in prison. After serving part of their sentences, they received an unconditional presidential pardon, officially published in the Federal Government Gazette in July 2022.
Despite the pardon, the Nigerian Army did not reinstate them, prompting the legal challenge that has now resulted in one of the country’s most significant judgments on the effect of presidential mercy.
In its ruling, the court rejected arguments by the Federal Government that a presidential pardon merely forgives an offence without automatically restoring employment. Justice Yelwa ruled that because the dismissals were directly linked to the convictions, removing the convictions through constitutional clemency also removed the legal basis for the dismissals.
The judge further stated that allowing the dismissals to remain after an unconditional pardon would weaken the constitutional authority of the President to grant mercy. The court described the Army’s failure to respond to the soldiers’ requests as an administrative omission that required judicial intervention.
The court ordered the Chief of Army Staff to immediately reinstate all 70 soldiers into the Nigerian Army and directed the government to pay their salaries, allowances and other employment benefits beginning from July 18, 2022, the date the presidential pardon became effective.
However, the court declined to award salary arrears dating back to their dismissal in December 2014. Justice Yelwa ruled that the soldiers were not entitled to payment for the period they were incarcerated because they were not actively serving in the military during those years. The judgment noted that the presidential pardon did not provide for retrospective salary payments before the date it became effective.
Legal analysts say the ruling could become an important precedent in Nigeria, especially in future cases involving presidential pardons, employment rights and military discipline. It also reinforces the constitutional scope of the President’s power of mercy, making clear that an unconditional pardon can restore not only civil rights but also employment rights where dismissal was solely based on a criminal conviction.
The judgment is expected to attract significant attention across Africa’s legal and security sectors, as it raises broader questions about justice, rehabilitation and the reintegration of pardoned military personnel into public service. It may also influence future legal interpretations of executive clemency in other African countries with similar constitutional provisions.
For the 70 soldiers, the ruling marks the end of a long legal battle and opens the door to returning to military service after years of uncertainty. It also sends a strong message that constitutional powers exercised by the presidency must be respected and implemented by all state institutions.
