Vatsa Family praises Tinubu for granting State Pardon to Late Gen Mamman Vatsa

The family of the late General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, who was executed in 1986 over an alleged coup plot against General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime, has expressed deep appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for granting a posthumous state pardon to the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

General Vatsa, a respected military officer and celebrated poet, was executed alongside nine other officers after a military tribunal found them guilty of plotting a coup. His family, however, has always maintained his innocence, appealing to successive administrations over the years to clear his name and restore his honour.

In a statement issued on Friday in Minna, the family described Tinubu’s gesture as their happiest moment in nearly four decades. The statement, signed by Hon. Jonathan Vatsa — a former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) — said the pardon brought immense relief to the family and the entire Gulu Vatsa community in Lapai Local Government Area.

“Today is the happiest moment in the life of the family after 39 years of sorrow and sadness following the killing of our late father, brother, and uncle,” Vatsa said. “Though nothing can bring him back, we are consoled by this display of statesmanship by President Tinubu. He has written his name in gold, and history will forever remember him.”

He further described the 1986 coup allegation as a frame-up driven by envy and hatred, citing late General Domkat Bali’s past remarks that the evidence against Vatsa was weak and did not justify his execution.

“The family still maintains that the late Vatsa was innocent of the coup, but we thank President Tinubu for his magnanimity in granting him a state pardon,” he said. “How we wished his late wife and some of his children were still alive to witness this day, but we thank God that his remaining children and grandchildren have lived to see justice done.”

Vatsa concluded by saying the act of pardon shows that “truth doesn’t expire,” adding that the family can now begin plans to establish a foundation in honour of the late general.