On April 14th, the National Council of State presided by President Muhammadu Buhari granted state pardon to 159 prisoners. Among them are the former Governors Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame of Plateau and Taraba States respectively, who are serving terms in jail for corruption.
Others pardoned persons include Tajudeen Olanrewaju, a former military general and minister under the Sani Abacha regime; Akiyode, a lieutenant colonel who was an aide of a former deputy to General Abacha, Oladipo Diya; and all the junior officers jailed over the 1990 abortive Gideon Orkar coup.
According to the Guardian, a presidency source disclosed that the two governors – Dariye and Nyame were pardoned on health and age grounds
A pardon is an executive order granting clemency to an individual who has been sentenced. In Nigeria, the president has the power to pardon those accused of federal offences while the governor has the power to pardon individuals accused of state offences.
The presidential pardon which is a component of executive power is backed by section 175 (1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). It states that “the president may grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions”
This power of pardon by the president, also referred to as the prerogative of mercy, has faced controversies since the beginning of the 4th republic in Nigeria, appearing to be more of a political prerogative than mercy.
There have been a number of political pardons since the beginning of the fourth republic in Nigeria. The first among was when Former President Olusegun Obasanjo granted Alhaji Ibrahim Salisu Buhari, and 14 other people presidential pardons in 2000 during his tenure as president. Alh. Ibrahim Salisu Buhari, who was a former speaker of the house of representatives was convicted for two years with an option of a fine for age falsification and certificate forgery, he paid the fine and was later pardoned by Olusegun Obasanjo. 14 other people pardoned alongside Alh. Ibrahim Buhari were convicted in 1995 for involvement in an attempted military coup against Gen. Sanni Abacha who was the then head of state, among them were 4 journalists and 2 human rights activists. Olusegun Obasanjo also granted pardons to 80 ex-soldiers who fought against the federal government in the 1967-1970 Biafra war in 2002.
The pardon of Alh. Ibrahim Buhari was highly contended with and the scandal was referred to as a “near destruction to Nigeria’s democracy experiment. There was no known controversy surrounding the pardon given to the 14 other people convicted for the 1995 coup and the 80 ex-Biafran soldiers.
Former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration only granted 1 presidential pardon to a man named Ibrahim Aliyu who had been on the death row for 22 years, for armed robbery. This pardon came after the Amnesty international questioned Nigeria’s criminal justice system on capital punishment.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan granted Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha, Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, Major General Abdulkarim Adisa, Maj. Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju, Maj. Bello Magaji, Mohammed Lima Biu Maj. Seun Fadipe, and Shettima Bulama presidential pardons. Chief D.S.P Alamieyeseigha was the former Governor of Bayelsa State who was accused of money laundering and was sentenced to two years in prison. He was later granted pardon due to his involvement in the peace process in the Niger Delta. The pardon of Alamieyeseigha was reported to have been initiated by Umar Yar’Adua.
The release of Alamieyeseigha was the most controversial of all other pardons granted by Goodluck Jonathan, reports claimed that Alamieseigha was a political benefactor to Goodluck Jonathan and the pardon was a reward.
Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, Major General Abdulkarim Adisa, Maj. Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju, Maj. Bello Magaji, Mohammed Lima Biu and Maj. Seun Fadipe were all sentenced to death by Sanni Abacha on treachery charges for their involvement in the Phantom coup of 1995. Shettima Bulama, the managing director of the now-defunct Bank of the North was convicted for misappropriation of funds but was pardoned without spending any time in prison. Criticisms also followed Bulama’s release including the United States threatening to sanction Nigeria and expressed their disappointment over the action of the federal government. Under Goodluck Jonathan, pardons granted to ex-militants and the N1 billion given to them as compensation also faced heavy criticism.
President Muhammad Buhari granted Chief Anthony Enahoro, Prof.Ambrose Alli, Lt. Col. Moses Effiong, Major EJ Olanrewaju, Ajayi Babalola and 44 others clemency back in 2020. Chief Anthony Enahoro was a nationalist convicted of treasonable felony and though he was granted a pardon by Yakubu Gowon, President Buhari “regranted” Enahoro’s pardon in 2020. Prof. Ambrose Alli was convicted for misappropriation of funds in 1963 while Lt. Col. Moses Effiong was convicted for conspiracy to overthrow Major General Babangida’s regime as well as Ajayi Babalola. Major EJ Olanrewaju was convicted in 1991 for collecting N2.3 million from an illegal oil bunkering operator. The pardon of Chief Enahoro garnered a lot of criticism as stakeholders queried the particular crime the late nationalist was pardoned for.
The most recent presidential pardon that has again led to controversies is the pardon of former state governors; Jolly Nyame of Taraba state and Joshua Dariye of Plateau state. They were both convicted for corruption in 2020 and 2018 respectively. Mr Nyame was given a 12 year jail term and Mr Dariye was given a 2 year jail term.
The decision also faced criticism from both The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) who oftentimes lead the investigations that lead to convictions. The EFCC says these pardons often reflect poorly on their work they do in fighting corruption.
The officials of the EFCC and ICPC expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision of President Buhari to pardon Jolly Nyame and Joshua Dariye. The anti-corruption agencies accused the President of sabotaging the fight against corruption.
“We used to say our problem in our work against corruption is the judiciary but we see a lack of political will by the president,” an EFCC official said.
Nuhu Ribadu, a former EFCC chairman, had expressed a similar sentiment during an interview with BBC in 2013 after Alamieyeseigha’s pardon under the Jonathan administration. He said that the presidential pardon was demoralising to those who sacrificed their lives and underwent great difficulty to meticulously investigate the crimes to fight corruption.
Apart from the two anti-corruption agencies, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Transparency International (TI) and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), also condemned the pardon granted to the corrupt politicians convicted by the Nigerian courts. SERAP urged the president to use his “good offices to urgently review and withdraw the pardon granted to the former governors who are serving jail terms for corruption.”
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