President Bola Tinubu has come under fire from former vice president Atiku Abubakar for what he called the “reckless and morally indefensible” use of presidential pardon.
Atiku claimed in a statement on Sunday that Tinubu’s most recent act of mercy “undermines justice and emboldens criminality,” betraying the essence of the constitutional authority it is supposed to stand for.
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“The recent announcement of a presidential pardon by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has, as expected, provoked outrage across the nation,” Abubakar said.
“Ordinarily, the power of presidential pardon is a solemn prerogative, a moral and constitutional instrument designed to temper justice with mercy and to underscore the humanity of the state.
“When properly exercised, it elevates justice and strengthens public faith in governance. Regrettably, the latest pardon issued by the Tinubu administration has done the very opposite.”
According to him, pardoning those found guilty of major crimes like drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption “not only diminishes the sanctity of justice but also sends a dangerous signal to the public and the international community about the values this government upholds.”
“At a time when Nigeria continues to reel under the weight of insecurity, moral decay, and a surge in drug-related offences, it is both shocking and indefensible that the presidency would prioritise clemency for those whose actions have directly undermined national stability and social order,” he added.
The fact that approximately one-third of those pardoned were found guilty of drug-related offences is “particularly worrisome,” according to Atiku.
“Particularly worrisome is the revelation that 29.2 percent of those pardoned were convicted for drug-related crimes at a time when our youth are being destroyed by narcotics, and our nation is still struggling to cleanse its image from the global stain of drug offences,” he said.
“Even more disturbing is the moral irony that this act of clemency is coming from a president whose own past remains clouded by unresolved and unexplained issues relating to the forfeiture of thousands of dollars to the United States government over drug-related investigations.
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“It is, therefore, no surprise that this administration continues to demonstrate a worrying tolerance for individuals associated with criminal enterprise.”
