President Bola Tinubu has reversed his decision on some individuals granted presidential pardon and clemency following backlash that trailed the decision.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said “certain persons convicted of serious crimes”, such as kidnapping, drug-related offences, human trafficking, fraud, and unlawful possession of firearms/arms dealing, have been deleted from the previously announced list.
President Tinubu has also directed the immediate relocation of the Secretariat of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy from the Federal Ministry of Special Duties to the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The directive, announced in a State House press release on Tuesday, follows widespread criticism over the clemency granted to 175 convicts and former convicts, including Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
According to the statement, the President signed the relevant instruments of release to “formally exercise his constitutional power of prerogative of mercy to grant pardon and clemency to specific individuals who were earlier convicted for various offences.”
Onanuga said following consultations with the Council of State and public opinion, Tinubu ordered a review of the initial list submitted by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi (SAN).
“Consequently, certain persons convicted of serious crimes such as kidnapping, drug-related offences, human trafficking, fraud, unlawful possession of firearms/arms dealing, etc., were deleted from the list. Others who had been hitherto pardoned in the old list had their sentences commuted,” the statement read.
The Presidency explained that the review was “necessary in view of the seriousness and security implications of some of the offences, the need to be sensitive to the feelings of the victims of the crimes and society in general, the need to boost the morale of law enforcement agencies and adherence to bilateral obligations.”
It added that the concept of justice as a “three-way traffic for the accused, the victim, and the state/society” also guided the review process.
To prevent a recurrence of controversies that trailed the last exercise, the President ordered that the Secretariat of the Advisory Committee be moved to the Ministry of Justice “to ensure that future exercises meet public expectations and best practices.”
He also directed the Attorney-General to issue “appropriate Guidelines for the Exercise of the Power of Prerogative of Mercy, which includes compulsory consultation with relevant prosecuting agencies,” noting that this would ensure that “only persons who fully meet the stipulated legal and procedural requirements will henceforth benefit from the issuance of instruments of release.”
Tinubu thanked Nigerians for the “constructive feedback and engagement from stakeholders and the general public on this matter” and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to judicial reforms and improving the administration of justice in Nigeria.
The presidential pardon list, which originally included Sanda, sparked public outrageearlier this month.
Some Nigerians had questioned the rationale behind granting clemency to individuals convicted of heinous crimes.
Sanda, who had spent six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre, was sentenced to death by the Federal Capital Territory High Court for the murder of her husband in 2017. The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict in 2020.
Her family had pleaded for her release, citing her “good conduct in jail, her remorse, and her embracement of a new lifestyle,” Onanuga had said earlier.
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