Ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of abusing the presidential power of mercy by granting pardons and clemency to 175 people, saying the move “undermines the sanctity of justice” and risks encouraging lawlessness.
In a statement via his X handle on Sunday, Atiku said the prerogative of mercy is meant to temper justice with compassion but had been “trivialised” by the latest round of pardons.
Tinubu on Thursday granted presidential pardons to 175 persons, including the late nationalist, Herbert Macaulay, the late Major General Mamman Vatsa, and Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death for murdering her husband.
Presenting the full list of beneficiaries in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday, said the decision followed recommendations by the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
The pardon also includes presidential clemency, which frees people convicted of offences ranging from homicide, illegal mining to fraud.
Atiku criticised the inclusion of people convicted of serious offences, saying the clemency list weakens public faith in the criminal-justice system and “emboldens criminality.”
He argued that clemency must not be allowed to become complicit with crime and diminish justice.
The statement read, “Ordinarily, the power of presidential pardon is a solemn prerogative, a moral and constitutional instrument designed to temper justice with mercy and to underscore the humanity of the state. When properly exercised, it elevates justice and strengthens public faith in governance.
“Regrettably, the latest pardon issued by the Tinubu administration has done the very opposite. 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.
“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 singled out the number of drug-related convictions among those pardoned, saying the decision was particularly troubling given the country’s ongoing fight against narcotics and youth vulnerability.
“Particularly worrisome is the revelation that 29.2% percent of those pardoned were convicted for drug-related crimes at a time when our youth are being destroyed by narcotics, and our nation is still struggling to cleanse its image from the global stain of drug offences,” he stated.
Atiku also referenced “unresolved” questions about President Tinubu’s own past financial and legal entanglements in foreign jurisdictions, saying the timing and composition of the pardons raise “moral and political” concerns.
“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.
“It is, therefore, no surprise that this administration continues to demonstrate a worrying tolerance for individuals associated with criminal enterprise.”
He added that “A presidential pardon is meant to symbolise restitution and moral reform. Instead, what we have witnessed is 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.
“Clemency must never be confused with complicity. 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.
“Nigeria deserves a leadership that upholds justice, not one that trivialises it.”
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