Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s recent presidential pardon of 175 convicted persons, describing the move as one that could embolden criminality and undermine Nigeria’s justice system.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, Effiong said the President’s decision raises serious 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 stated.
Citing Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution, the lawyer explained that the President indeed has the constitutional power to grant pardons through the prerogative of mercy, which allows him to forgive and clear the criminal record of a convicted individual.
“When the President acts on the recommendation of the committee and issues a pardon or clemency, that pardon is absolute. It extinguishes the criminal history and record of the person that is pardoned,” Effiong explained.
However, he questioned the motives behind granting clemency to certain individuals.
“I find it rather curious that the President, for reasons best known to him and the committee, has decided to issue pardons to individuals that we don’t think merit it,” he added.
‘Some Pardons Are Understandable’
Effiong noted that some of the pardons were understandable, including those granted posthumously to General Mamman Vatsa and the Ogoni Nine, among them Ken Saro-Wiwa.
“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.
However, the lawyer condemned the pardon of individuals convicted of drug trafficking and homicide, questioning its implications for the rule of law.
“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 asked.
He was particularly critical of the pardon granted to 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 queried.
‘Wrong Signal to Society’
Effiong warned that the presidential clemency could send the wrong signal to Nigerians and weaken public trust in justice.
“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?” he asked rhetorically.
“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,” he said.
Concerns About Reformation Claims
The human rights lawyer also cast doubt on the presidency’s justification 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,” Effiong said.
While acknowledging that the President’s power to grant pardon is constitutional, Effiong urged caution and discretion in exercising it.
“Yes, he has authority to do so, and nobody can challenge that power. But the message being sent across the country today is that victims have been relegated, and criminals can have a field day,” he warned.
Background
President Tinubu last Thursday approved clemency for 175 convicts, including the late Major General Mamman Vatsa, Professor Magaji Garba, Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and members of the Ogoni Eight.
According to the Presidency, the decision followed 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 pardons also covered individuals convicted of homicide, drug trafficking, illegal mining, and fraud.
