Nigeria’s former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over the reversal of the controversial presidential pardon earlier granted to convicted drug traffickers, kidnappers, and other offenders.
President Tinubu on Wednesday ordered the removal of individuals convicted of kidnapping, drug trafficking, human trafficking, fraud, and unlawful possession of firearms from the list of beneficiaries under the federal government’s prerogative of mercy.
The decision came after widespread public criticism of the original pardon, which many Nigerians described as insensitive and damaging to public trust.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, Abubakar said the president’s reversal was “too little, too late”, describing it as a response to public outrage rather than a demonstration of good judgment.
“President Bola Tinubu has cancelled his own pardon for drug traffickers, kidnappers, and other hardened criminals but only after Nigerians shouted loud enough to wake him from his moral slumber,” the statement said.
Abubakar added that the controversy raised serious questions about governance and accountability within the current administration.
“If the public had kept quiet, would convicted drug lords and kidnappers be walking free today under the President’s blessing?” he asked.
The former vice-president also questioned how the list of beneficiaries was compiled and what criteria were used in granting clemency to individuals convicted of serious crimes. He called on the Attorney-General, Lateef Fagbemi, to explain the government’s role in what he described as a “national embarrassment.”
Abubakar accused the Tinubu administration of a recurring pattern of hasty decisions followed by public backlash and subsequent reversals.
The presidential pardon, also known as the “prerogative of mercy”, allows the president to commute sentences or grant clemency under Section 175 of Nigeria’s Constitution.