Atiku berates Tinubu over ‘reckless’ use of Presidential Pardon

**Atiku Abubakar Condemns Presidential Clemency for Drug and Murder Convicts as Undermining Justice and Encouraging Criminality**

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticized President Bola Tinubu’s recent use of the presidential pardon. In a strongly worded statement issued on Saturday in Abuja, Atiku described the pardon exercise as “reckless, immoral, and a grave assault on the integrity of Nigeria’s justice system.”

Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of abusing the constitutional prerogative of mercy by granting clemency to individuals convicted of serious crimes, including drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption.

“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,” the former vice president said. “When properly exercised, it elevates justice and strengthens public faith in governance. Regrettably, the latest pardon by this administration has done the very opposite.”

According to Atiku, the decision has “diminished the sanctity of justice” and sent a “dangerous signal to the public and the international community” regarding the government’s moral compass and commitment to the rule of law.

He pointed out that at a time when Nigeria is grappling with rising insecurity, youth drug abuse, and moral decay, it is “both shocking and indefensible” for the presidency to prioritize clemency for offenders whose actions have directly threatened national stability and social order.

Highlighting troubling statistics, Atiku noted that about 29.2 percent of those pardoned were convicted of drug-related offences. For a country struggling to curb narcotics abuse and rebuild its international reputation, this figure is particularly alarming.

The former vice president also called attention to what he described as a “moral irony,” emphasizing that the pardon came from a president whose past has been “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,” Atiku stated.

He condemned the pardon as “a mockery of the criminal justice system, an affront to victims, and a demoralization of law enforcement officers who risk their lives daily to uphold the law.”

“Clemency must never be confused with complicity,” Atiku warned. “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.”
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