The National Industrial Court in Lagos has ordered the immediate reinstatement of 70 Nigerian Army personnel who were convicted by courts-martial in 2014 but later received an unconditional presidential pardon from former President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a landmark judgment delivered on July 20, 2026, Justice S.A. Yelwa ruled that the presidential pardon completely erased the soldiers’ convictions, sentences and dismissals, thereby restoring their legal status and entitling them to return to military service.
The suit, marked NICN/LA/54/2023, was filed by the affected soldiers against the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Chief of Army Staff after military authorities allegedly failed to act on requests for their reinstatement following the pardon.
The soldiers were among military personnel convicted of offences related to conspiracy and mutiny in 2014. Although initially sentenced to death, their punishments were later reduced to ten years’ imprisonment. After serving their terms, they received an unconditional presidential pardon through an official instrument published in the Federal Government Gazette in July 2022.
Represented by Falana & Falana Chambers, the claimants argued that the pardon extinguished all legal consequences of their convictions, including their dismissal from the Army. They therefore sought reinstatement and payment of all salaries and allowances lost since their dismissal.
Delivering judgment, Justice Yelwa held that the presidential pardon issued under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution removed the legal basis upon which the soldiers were dismissed.
The court ruled that allowing the dismissals to remain despite the pardon would effectively subordinate the President’s constitutional powers to administrative decisions of military authorities.
Accordingly, the court ordered the Chief of Army Staff to immediately reinstate all 70 soldiers with effect from July 18, 2022, the date the pardon took effect.
The court also directed the Nigerian Army to pay all salaries, allowances and other emoluments accruing from July 18, 2022, until the date of their physical reinstatement.
However, the court declined the request for salaries covering the period between December 17, 2014, and July 17, 2022, holding that the soldiers were not entitled to payment for years during which they neither served nor carried out official duties because they were incarcerated.
Legal observers have described the judgment as a significant interpretation of the constitutional powers of presidential pardon and its implications for employment rights within the Armed Forces.
