Presidential pardon for drug offenders embarrassing, says JODER

Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER), a civil society organisation (CSO), has asked the federal executive council (FEC) to rescind the pardon recently granted certain Nigerians.

Last Thursday, President Bola Tinubu granted presidential pardon and other forms of clemency to 175 persons, following the approval of the council of state.

Among the 175 beneficiaries are Herbert Macaulay, one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists; Farouk Lawan, a former member of the house of representatives; and Mamman Vatsa, a major general and poet executed in 1986 over alleged treason.

Drug offenders, illegal miners, white-collar convicts, and foreigners also made the list.

In a statement on Friday signed by Adewale Adeoye, its executive director, JODER said the pardon has further destroyed the moral fabric of the country while pushing Nigeria deeper into the red light district of global moral reckoning.

The organisation added that the pardon of drug barons has diminished the dignity of Nigerians across the world.

“Why it is the prerequisite of the President to grant State Pardon, the exercise should be carried out with consideration for the sacred ethics of the society at large,” the statement reads.

“There are about 54,000 Nigerians Awaiting Trial for various offences including theft of goats or even food. There are also people detained for demanding for self determination.

“There is no justification why the priority of the Government should be the pardon of convicted drug lords whose crimes continue to imperil the health and prosperity of the country.”

The CSO said the decision gave the impression that people in power are drug-baron friendly, that convicted drug barons can be released and be allowed to go back to their trade, and that Nigeria is a letdown to the international community in the global war against illicit drugs.

“The embarrassment is beyond measure, that the leadership of a country can grant State Pardon to couriers of illicit drug promoters that have already been found guilty and convicted by the Courts of Law,” Adeoye said.

“Whatever achievements the Government may have recorded has been brought to nought by this single action which history has recorded.”

Adeoye said the action will lower the esteem of honest NDLEA officials who have dedicated their entire lifetime to fighting illicit drugs, some of whom have died in the process.

“The pardon will endanger the lives of NDLEA officials and rob whistle blowers of the courage to speak out. At the same time, the pardon adds horror to the memory of NDLEA officials that have been killed in the course of saving Nigerians from the peril of hard drugs,” the statement added.

“What we see are jubilation across red light zones in Nigeria over the pardon which marks one of the ugliest turning points in the annals of Nigeria’s battle against killer drugs and their sponsors.”