Nigerian court orders reinstatement of 70 pardoned soldiers, directs army to pay salaries

A Nigerian court has ordered the immediate reinstatement of 70 soldiers who were granted a presidential pardon after being convicted by courts-martial. The National Industrial Court of Nigeria ruled on July 20, 2026, that the pardon, issued under the constitution, erased the legal consequences of the soldiers' convictions and dismissals.

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the presidential pardon extinguished the legal consequences of the soldiers’ convictions, sentences and dismissals from service, thereby restoring their legal status and entitling them to reinstatement.

The soldiers had sued the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Chief of Army Staff after the military failed to act on their reinstatement request following a 2022 presidential pardon. The pardon, granted by former President Muhammadu Buhari, was published in the official gazette in July 2022.

Represented by Falana & Falana Chambers, the soldiers sought declarations that the pardon nullified their convictions and dismissals, and an order for their reinstatement and payment of outstanding salaries. They had been convicted in 2014 on charges including conspiracy and mutiny, initially sentenced to death, with their sentences later commuted to 10 years' imprisonment.

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the presidential pardon completely erased every legal consequence of the convictions, including the soldiers’ dismissal from service.

The Attorney-General's office argued that a pardon forgives an offense but does not automatically erase the conviction's history or guarantee employment reinstatement. They also contended that salary arrears should not be awarded for periods of non-service. The Chief of Army Staff did not file a defense.

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while a presidential pardon forgives the offence and restores civil rights, it does not erase the historical fact of conviction or automatically guarantee reinstatement into employment.