Dare Babalola
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent decision to pardon individuals convicted of serious crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption.
In a statement he signed personally on Sunday, Atiku expressed disappointment and outrage over the pardon, which he believes undermines the sanctity of justice and sends a wrong signal to the public and international community about the values of the government.
“The decision to extend clemency to individuals convicted of grave crimes diminishes the sanctity of justice and sends a dangerous signal to the public and the international community about the values this government upholds,” Atiku said.
Atiku noted that the pardon is particularly disturbing given the current security challenges and moral decay in the country. He pointed out that 29.2% of those pardoned were convicted of drug-related crimes, which is a major concern for the nation.
The former Vice President also highlighted the moral irony of the President’s decision, given his own past controversies related to drug-related investigations in the United States.
“A presidential pardon is meant to symbolize restitution and moral reform. Instead, what we have witnessed is a mockery of the criminal justice system, an affront to victims, a demoralization of law enforcement, and a grave injury to the conscience of the nation,” Atiku said.
He emphasized that clemency should not be confused with complicity and that when a government absolves offenders of crimes it claims to be fighting, it erodes the moral authority of leadership and emboldens lawlessness.
“Nigeria deserves a leadership that upholds justice, not one that trivializes it,” Atiku concluded.
President Tinubu came under intense attack following his decision to pardon Maryam Sanda, sentenced to death in 2020 for the killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
Maryam Sanda’s case first gained public attention when Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court in Abuja convicted and sentenced her to death by hanging on January 27, 2020, ruling that she had fatally stabbed her husband at their home.
“She should reap what she has sown, for it has been said that ‘thou shall not kill’ and whoever kills in cold blood deserves death as his own reward,” Justice Halilu declared at the time.
Responding to critics on Saturday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said, “Her family pleaded for her release, arguing that it was in the best interest of her two children. The plea was also anchored on her good conduct in jail, her remorse, and her embracement of a new lifestyle, demonstrating her commitment to being a model prisoner.”
The pardon is part of a larger decision by President Tinubu to grant clemency to 175 Nigerians and foreigners, including notable figures such as the late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, Major General Mamman Vatsa, and other members of the “Ogoni Nine.”
