Legal Victory for 70 Ex-Soldiers as Court Compels Nigerian Army to Reinstate Them
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Lagos Division, has directed the immediate reinstatement of 70 Nigerian Army personnel who were convicted by courts-martial in 2014 but were subsequently granted an unconditional presidential pardon by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a judgment delivered on July 20, 2026, Justice S.A. Yelwa ruled that the presidential pardon, granted under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution, effectively wiped out the legal consequences of the soldiers’ convictions, sentences, and dismissals from service. The court held that the pardon restored their legal status and entitled them to be reinstated into the Nigerian Army.
The case, marked NICN/LA/54/2023, was instituted by the 70 former soldiers against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) after military authorities allegedly failed to act on their request for reinstatement following the presidential pardon granted in 2022.
Represented by Falana & Falana Chambers, the claimants sought declarations that the presidential pardon nullified the legal effects of their convictions and dismissals. They also asked the court to compel the Nigerian Army to reinstate them and pay all outstanding salaries and allowances dating back to December 17, 2014.
The affected soldiers were among military personnel convicted by various courts-martial in 2014 on charges that included conspiracy and mutiny. Although they were initially sentenced to death, their punishments were later commuted to 10 years’ imprisonment.
After completing their prison terms, the former soldiers received an unconditional presidential pardon from former President Buhari through the Instrument of Grant of Pardon, 2022, which was published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette on July 29, 2022.
Following the pardon, their legal representatives wrote to the Chief of Army Staff on November 7, 2022, requesting their reinstatement and the payment of all outstanding salaries and entitlements. While Army Headquarters acknowledged receipt of the correspondence, the claimants alleged that no further action was taken, prompting them to seek judicial intervention.
Lead counsel to the claimants, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Funmi Falana, alongside Chukwuma Onwumene, argued that the presidential pardon completely removed every legal consequence arising from the convictions, including the soldiers’ dismissal from military service.
According to the legal team, because the dismissals were directly based on the courts-martial convictions, the unconditional pardon automatically extinguished the legal basis for their removal from the Army, making their reinstatement a legal entitlement.
Counsel representing the Attorney-General of the Federation, Omobolanle Aina, disagreed with that position. The defence argued that although a presidential pardon forgives the offence and restores an individual’s civil rights, it does not erase the historical record of conviction or automatically confer a right to reinstatement into public employment.