Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s latest wave of presidential pardons, describing it as “a glaring display of hypocrisy and injustice.”
In a post shared on his official X account on Friday, Sowore criticized the President for granting clemency to convicted criminals and corrupt politicians while continuing to detain Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), despite multiple court orders mandating his release.
Sowore noted that Tinubu’s pardon list included a convicted cocaine trafficker serving a life sentence, former lawmaker Farouk Lawan, famously caught on tape collecting bribes, alongside the late Mamman Vatsa, as well as nationalist figures like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Herbert Macaulay. He also pointed out that other known fraudsters and corrupt politicians benefited from the President’s gesture.
“For Tinubu, those who looted the country’s future and betrayed public trust deserve forgiveness and celebration,” Sowore wrote. “Yet, a man whose only demand is self-determination and justice continues to languish in detention. This is not justice, “it is hypocrisy at its peak.”
Sowore’s post has since generated massive reactions online, with many Nigerians echoing his sentiments about what they see as a double standard in Tinubu’s administration. Critics argue that the government’s selective application of mercy undermines public confidence in the justice system and deepens perceptions of political bias.