Abuja, Nigeria—Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has severely criticized President Bola Tinubu’s recent grant of presidential pardons and clemency to 175 individuals, accusing the President of abusing the power of mercy and risking the encouragement of lawlessness.
In a statement released via his X handle on Sunday, Atiku argued that while the prerogative of mercy is meant to “temper justice with compassion,” it had been “trivialised” by the recent action.
Undermining the Sanctity of Justice
President Tinubu had on Thursday granted pardons and clemency to 175 persons, including the late nationalist Herbert Macaulay, the late Major General Mamman Vatsa, and Maryam Sanda, who was convicted of murdering her husband. The list, which includes clemency for people convicted of offences ranging from homicide, illegal mining, and fraud, was presented by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who noted the decision followed recommendations by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.
Atiku, however, criticized the inclusion of individuals convicted of serious crimes, arguing that the clemency list “weakens public faith in the criminal-justice system and ’emboldens criminality.'”
“The decision to extend clemency to individuals convicted of grave crimes such as 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,” the statement read.
Shocking and Indefensible
The former Vice-President argued that the decision was particularly concerning given the nation’s current challenges.
“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,” Atiku asserted.
He specifically highlighted the pardon of individuals with drug-related convictions, calling the decision “particularly troubling.” Furthermore, he drew a parallel between the pardons and the President’s own past, stating: “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.”
Atiku concluded that the clemency act was a “mockery of the criminal justice system, an affront to victims, a demoralisation of law enforcement, and a grave injury to the conscience of the nation.”
“When a government begins to absolve offenders of the very crimes it claims to be fighting, it erodes the moral authority of leadership and emboldens lawlessness,” he said, stating that Nigeria deserves a leadership that upholds justice, not one that trivializes it.
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