3 weeks ago
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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s caller workout of the statesmanlike prerogative of mercy, describing it arsenic a reckless misuse of powerfulness that undermines justness and accountability successful Nigeria.
In a connection posted connected his X grip connected Sunday, Atiku said the statesmanlike pardon, which saw clemency granted to 175 convicts and erstwhile convicts including the precocious Major General Mamman Vatsa, Professor Magaji Garba, Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and different members of the Ogoni 9, has reduced the solemn process to “a specified triviality.”
The database besides included individuals convicted of superior offences specified arsenic homicide, fraud, and amerciable mining, pursuing recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee connected the Prerogative of Mercy chaired by Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
Atiku criticised the inclusion of specified offenders, arguing that it sends a unsafe connection and erodes nationalist assurance successful Nigeria’s justness system.
“Ordinarily, the powerfulness of statesmanlike pardon is simply a solemn prerogative, a motivation and law instrumentality designed to temper justness with mercy and to underscore the humanity of the state,” Atiku said. “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 erstwhile Vice President accused the Tinubu medication of “diminishing the sanctity of justice” and “emboldening criminality” by granting clemency to individuals convicted of sedate crimes.
“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,” helium stated.
“At a clip erstwhile Nigeria continues to reel nether the value of insecurity, motivation decay, and a surge successful drug-related offences, it is some shocking and indefensible that the presidency would prioritise clemency for those whose actions person straight undermined nationalist stableness and societal order.”
Atiku expressed peculiar interest implicit the fig of drug-related offenders among those pardoned, calling the determination “especially troubling” successful airy of Nigeria’s ongoing conflict against substance abuse.
“Particularly worrisome is the revelation that 29.2 percent of those pardoned were convicted for drug-related crimes astatine a clip erstwhile our younker are being destroyed by narcotics, and our federation is inactive struggling to cleanse its representation from the planetary stain of cause offences,” helium said.
He further questioned the motivation lasting of President Tinubu to contented specified pardons, referencing unresolved controversies surrounding the President’s past.
“Even much disturbing is the motivation irony that this enactment of clemency is coming from a President whose ain past remains clouded by unresolved and unexplained issues relating to the forfeiture of thousands of dollars to the United States authorities implicit drug-related investigations,” Atiku remarked.
“It is, therefore, nary astonishment that this medication continues to show a worrying tolerance for individuals associated with transgression enterprise.”
Condemning the workout successful its entirety, Atiku described it arsenic “a mockery of the transgression justness system, an affront to victims, a demoralization of instrumentality enforcement, and a sedate wounded to the conscience of the nation.”
“Clemency indispensable ne'er beryllium confused with complicity,” helium declared. “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.”
The erstwhile Vice President concluded by calling for enactment that upholds justness alternatively than trivializes it.
“Nigeria deserves a enactment that upholds justice, not 1 that trivializes it,” Atiku stated.
English (US) ·