A former minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, has said President Bola Tinubu’s recent wave of presidential pardons has become a political bazaar.
Dalung said by freeing convicted drug traffickers, fraudsters, illegal miners, kidnappers and even the killer of her husband, Maryam Sanda, the President had messed up the constitutional power of mercy.
This was contained in a post on his verified Facebook page in Jos, titled, “When the sacred instrument of mercy becomes a weapon of political favouritism, justice dies silently and the nation loses its moral compass.”
He said what should be an act of compassion had instead become a tool of political favouritism that undermines the moral foundation of justice.
“The result is a judiciary stripped of dignity and a nation sinking deeper into moral decay. Judges who laboured under intense pressure to deliver justice now watch helplessly as their verdicts are nullified by executive fiat.
“Years of painstaking prosecution and judicial courage have been rubbished in the name of mercy. The judiciary, once seen as the last hope of the common man, has become the biggest casualty of this political recklessness,” he lamented.
The former minister said if the Executive can whimsically overturn judicial decisions, then the courts are no longer temples of justice but chambers of irrelevance, stressing that the inclusion of hardened criminals in the pardon list is a slap on morality and the victims of crime.
“It tells the world that in Nigeria, crime pays — provided one has political or social connections. The decision sits on the graves of victims and shatters the faith of families who once believed the state stood for justice.
“This is not mercy; it is betrayal disguised as compassion. Meanwhile, individuals like Nnamdi Kanu and DCP Abba Kyari remain incarcerated, revealing a selective justice system that is harsh to the weak and indulgent to the powerful,” he added.
Dalung said instead of restoring confidence in the justice system, President Tinubu’s pardon further erodes it, warning that it sends a dangerous signal that corruption and criminality can always find sanctuary in the corridors of power.
“This is not the Renewed Hope Nigerians were promised; it is renewed hopelessness. When convicted kidnappers, drug dealers, and violent offenders are released without remorse, the state inadvertently encourages lawlessness and weakens deterrence.
“The government now appears to shield criminals more than its citizens. President Tinubu’s pardon policy is a moral, legal and political disaster. It desecrates the sanctity of justice, humiliates the judiciary and betrays the conscience of the nation,” he declared.
