Kelvin Prosper Oniarah, widely known as Kelvin Ibruvwe and once regarded as a notorious kidnapping and armed robbery kingpin, is among the individuals who recently regained freedom following a presidential pardon granted under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s amnesty programme for inmates.
Now 44, Oniarah was one of Nigeria’s most dreaded criminals in the early 2010s. He headed a brutal gang responsible for a wave of kidnappings and armed robberies across the South-South and parts of the South-East, leaving behind numerous cases of abductions, violent attacks, and the deaths of civilians and security operatives.
He was apprehended on September 25, 2013, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by a joint operation involving the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Army, after eluding law enforcement for years. At the time, security agencies described his arrest as a major milestone in Nigeria’s battle against organised crime.
Prior to his arrest, Kelvin had issued a 60-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, threatening widespread violence if his detained associates were not released.
Security intelligence linked him to several high-profile abduction cases, including the kidnapping of senior advocate Barrister Mike Ozekhome (SAN) along the Auchi–Benin Road on August 24, 2013; the abduction of a judge of the Edo State judiciary; a senior female official of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); and Dr Chudi Nwike, a former Deputy Governor of Anambra State, who was reportedly killed while in Kelvin’s custody. Several members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and security personnel were also abducted and killed during his reign of terror.
Authorities further accused Oniarah of operating multiple detention camps across the Niger Delta and Middle Belt regions, with locations reportedly in Warri and Kokori in Delta State, Ugbokolo in Benue State, Benin City in Edo State, and Aba in Abia State.
Despite the severity of these allegations and convictions, Kelvin was included among those freed under President Tinubu’s highly controversial pardon, which also covered numerous convicted kidnappers, drug traffickers, and violent criminals.
The decision has triggered widespread condemnation, with civil society organisations and opposition parties branding the move “a national disgrace” and warning that it amounts to “an open invitation to anarchy.”
President Tinubu approved sweeping clemency and posthumous pardons for 147 individuals, comprising convicted prisoners, serving inmates, and deceased Nigerians. Beneficiaries included Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Sir Herbert Macaulay, Major-General Mamman Vatsa, Professor Magaji Garba, alongside dozens of illegal miners, drug offenders, and white-collar criminals.
The Presidency said the action was intended to demonstrate “compassion, justice, and national healing,” following recommendations by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
The announcement was made during a Council of State meeting held on Thursday.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, 175 names were initially reviewed, with 147 ultimately granted relief through full pardons, commutation of death sentences to life imprisonment, or reductions in jail terms.
Among those granted posthumous honours were Sir Herbert Macaulay, pardoned for a 1913 conviction imposed by British colonial authorities; Major-General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, executed in 1986 for alleged treason under the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida; and Ken Saro-Wiwa alongside eight other members of the Ogoni Nine, executed in 1995 during the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha.
The list of the Ogoni Nine includes Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawa, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine.
The Federal Government also named Ogoniland community leaders Albert Badey, Edward Kobaru, Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage among those to be officially recognised as victims.
Also benefiting from the clemency were former lawmaker Hon. Farouk Lawan; former University of Maiduguri Vice-Chancellor, Professor Magaji Garba; ex-ICPC convict Barrister Hussaini Alhaji Umar; and former SUBEB chairman Ayinla Saadu Alanamu, either through full pardons or reduced sentences.