Recently, some reputable media outlets in Nigeria have published that the Nigerian president, Bola Ahmad Tinubu, has reviewed and withdrawn the name of the criminals on the presidential pardon list. This decision was taken due to the public outcry and criticism because the earlier presidential pardon will give room for crime to stand in our society.
Many have appreciated this decision, and some have criticized the decision.
My question is, has the president really withdraw the criminals’ names from the president’s pardon list?
My answer is no, because I have checked whether there is any withdrawal by the president, but I didn’t see any. According to the viral reports, the president has granted full presidential pardon to some people and partial (reduction of sentence) to another set of people—this clearly shows that the power of amnesty has not been withdrawn by the president—many see this reduction as the withdrawal of presidential pardon.
It is important to note that the presidential pardon exercised by the pardon can be done wholly or partially according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended; the president has discretionary power to grant this pardon. By the provision of section 175 (1) (a) of the Constitution, the president may grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offense a pardon either free or subject to lawful conditions.
What I am concerned about is that does the reduction of sentence amount to the withdrawal of Presidential Pardon? No, there is still a presidential pardon granted to those criminals, which included Maryam Sanda, Chukwukelu Sunday Calistus, Nnamdi Anene, and others. According to the Constitution, the president can partially grant the presidential pardon to the convicted criminals; this can be done by the reduction of their sentence. This can be seen in s 175 (1)(c) of the Constitution; the president may substitute a less severe form of punishment for any punishment imposed on that person for such an offense. Reduction of sentence is not a withdrawal of presidential pardon.
Thus, mere reduction of presidential pardon doesn’t automatically mean that the president has withdrawn the pardon; the implication is that the criminal will enjoy lesser punishment than the earlier punishment.
The writer is a final year law student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto and writer who has written legal articles.
He can be reach through: kamaldeenabdulrasaq@gmail.com
09072621530.
