3 weeks ago
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Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s latest usage of the statesmanlike pardon, describing it arsenic a reckless enactment that undermines justness and accountability.
In a connection posted connected his X handle, yesterday, Atiku said the statesmanlike prerogative of mercy is meant to equilibrium justness with compassion, not to trivialise criminality.
He faulted the astir caller circular of pardons, saying it has reduced the process “to a specified triviality.”
President Tinubu had, connected Thursday, granted clemency to 175 convicts and erstwhile convicts, including the precocious Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and different members of the Ogoni Eight.
According to a connection from the Presidency, the determination followed recommendations by the Presidential Advisory Committee connected the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
The clemency besides covered persons convicted of superior crimes specified arsenic homicide, amerciable mining, and fraud.
Reacting, Atiku condemned the inclusion of specified offenders, arguing that it undermines nationalist assurance successful the transgression justness strategy and, successful his words, “emboldens criminality.”
He maintained that the workout of clemency should ne'er go an accomplice to transgression oregon erode the foundations of justice.
“Ordinarily, the powerfulness of statesmanlike pardon is simply a solemn prerogative — a motivation and law instrumentality designed to temper justness with mercy and underscore the humanity of the state,” Atiku stated.
“When decently exercised, it elevates justness and strengthens nationalist religion successful governance. Regrettably, the latest pardon issued by the Tinubu medication has done the precise opposite.
“The determination to widen clemency to individuals convicted of sedate crimes specified arsenic cause trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption not lone diminishes the sanctity of justness but besides sends a unsafe awesome to the nationalist and the planetary assemblage astir the values this authorities upholds.”
He added that astatine a clip erstwhile Nigeria is battling insecurity, motivation decline, and rising drug-related offences, it was “both shocking and indefensible” for the Presidency to prioritise clemency for individuals who person undermined nationalist stableness and societal order.
Atiku described arsenic peculiarly worrying the revelation that astir 29.2 per cent of those pardoned were convicted for drug-related crimes, noting that the determination was insensitive to the nation’s conflict against narcotics and the vulnerability of Nigerian youths.
“Even much disturbing,” helium said, “is the motivation irony that this enactment of clemency comes from a President whose past remains clouded by unresolved issues relating to the forfeiture of thousands of dollars to the United States authorities implicit drug-related investigations.”
The erstwhile Vice President noted that a statesmanlike pardon should symbolise restitution and motivation reform, not mockery of justice.
“What we person witnessed is simply a mockery of the transgression justness system, an affront to victims, a demoralisation of instrumentality enforcement, and a sedate wounded to the conscience of the nation,” helium said.
“Clemency indispensable ne'er beryllium confused with complicity. When a authorities begins to absolve offenders of the precise crimes it claims to beryllium fighting, it erodes the motivation authorization of enactment and emboldens lawlessness. Nigeria deserves a enactment that upholds justice, not 1 that trivialises it.”
The station Tinubu’s statesmanlike pardon emboldens criminality – Atiku appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.
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