Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s recent presidential pardon of some persons among the 175 convicted individuals, describing the move as one that will embolden criminality and weaken the country’s justice system.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, Effiong said the President’s decision raised moral and legal questions about the message being sent to Nigerians and law enforcement agencies.
“My perception is that this pardon the President has issued is basically going to embolden criminality in the country,” Effiong said.
He explained that under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution, the President has “an unlimited constitutional power to exercise what is called the prerogative of mercy,” which he described as an act of clemency or pardon where the President “basically forgives and pardons those convicted or subjected to the criminal process”.
“When the President acts on the recommendation of the committee and issues a pardon or clemency, that pardon is absolute. What it implies in law is that it extinguishes and basically brings to an end the criminal history and record of the person that is pardoned,” he said.
The lawyer, however, questioned the motive behind granting clemency to several convicts.
“I find it rather curious that the President, for reasons best known to him and the presidential committee, has decided to issue pardons to individuals that we don’t think merit it,” he added.
‘Some Pardons Understandable’
But Effiong acknowledged that some pardons were understandable, including those of the late General Mamman Vatsa and the Ogoni Nine.
“In the case of Mamman Vatsa, General [Ibrahim] Babangida, who orchestrated his conviction, was himself a coup plotter. I do not know what moral authority Babangida stood on to speak about the security of the state being threatened,” he argued.
He criticised the pardon of individuals convicted of drug-related crimes, asking: “What now becomes of the years of work and effort the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has put into the arrest and prosecution of these individuals? What message does that send to other drug traffickers who are undermining the security of the country?”
Effiong also questioned the inclusion of Maryam Sanda, who was convicted in 2020 for killing her husband.
“Here is a woman who gruesomely murdered her husband in 2017, stabbed him multiple times, and now we are told to forgive her in the interest of the children and because she has allegedly shown remorse. What becomes of the family of the husband she murdered?” he asked.
He also warned that the presidential pardons could send the wrong message to society.
“How come [Lawrence] Anini, the man who gave kidnapping the notoriety it has today, was not pardoned? How come Evans, the notorious billionaire kidnapper, has not been pardoned?
“If the President is now becoming the saviour of hardened criminals, then he should go the whole way and open the prison gates of Kirikiri,” the lawyer stated.
Presidential Clemency
Effiong further questioned the presidency’s claims that the pardoned individuals had become reformed.
“There is hardly anything correctional about the Nigerian Correctional Service. I do not buy the argument that these individuals are remorseful simply because they have enrolled in the National Open University,” he said.
While acknowledging that President Tinubu has constitutional authority to issue pardons, Effiong stressed that such power must be exercised with discretion.
“Yes, he has constitutional authority to do so, and nobody can challenge that authority to the extent that Section 175 allows him. But the message being sent across the country today is that victims have been relegated, and criminals can have a field day,” he added.
President Bola Tinubu, last Thursday, granted clemency to 175 convicts, including notable figures such as the late Major General Mamman Vatsa, Professor Magaji Garba, Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the other members of the Ogoni Eight.
According to a statement from the Presidency, the decision was based on recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
The presidential pardon also extended clemency to individuals convicted of various serious crimes, including homicide, drug trafficking, illegal mining, and fraud.
