Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has berated President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the review of the clemency list, following public condemnation, saying the government thinks after it acts.
The Tinubu’s government on Wednesday announced the reviewed clemency list, removing individuals convicted of serious crimes such as kidnapping, drug-related offences, human trafficking, fraud and unlawful possession or dealing in firearms.
Reacting in to the development, the former Vice President, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said Nigerians have witnessed a government that doesn’t lead but reacts.
“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.
“Let’s be clear: this U-turn is not an act of wisdom, it’s an act of shame.
“If the public had kept quiet, would convicted drug lords and kidnappers be walking free today under the President’s blessing? Who thought it was a brilliant idea to reward crime and betray justice? Who signed off on such national embarrassment?
“These are the questions every Nigerian deserves answers to: Who compiled the list of beneficiaries?
What criteria justified freeing kidnappers and drug offenders? Where was the Attorney-General when this absurdity was cooked up? And why does this government only “discover its conscience” after Nigerians express outrage?”he said.
According to the former vice president, this pattern has become too familiar — announce the unthinkable, watch the country erupt, then hurriedly reverse course as if governance is a game of “trial and error.”
“A presidential pardon is not a social experiment. It is a sacred constitutional power meant to reflect justice, mercy, and national interest — not to reward impunity or test public patience.
“How can a government that pardons criminals lecture citizens about morality, order, or discipline? How can a Commander-in-Chief who nearly freed kidnappers claim to be fighting insecurity? This entire episode exposes one bitter truth: Nigeria is being governed without foresight, without empathy, and without shame.”
“If the President truly means well, let him publish the list of all those who were meant to benefit from this scandal. Let Nigerians see the names, the crimes, and the hands that signed off on this reckless indulgence. Until then, this cancellation is nothing but damage control — too little, too late,” the statement added.
