Atiku Blasts Tinubu Over Presidential Pardon, Calls It “Reckless and Dangerous”

Atiku has blasted Tinubu over Presidential pardon and called it “reckless and dangerous”.

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s latest exercise of the presidential pardon, describing it as reckless, indefensible, and a move that undermines justice, accountability, and the rule of law.

In a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Sunday, Atiku said the prerogative of mercy is a constitutional tool meant to balance justice with compassion, not to trivialise or reward wrongdoing.

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“Ordinarily, the power of presidential pardon is a solemn prerogative — a moral and constitutional instrument designed to temper justice with mercy. But the latest pardon by the Tinubu administration has done the very opposite,”
— Atiku Abubakar stated.

President Tinubu had, on Thursday, approved clemency for 175 convicts and ex-convicts, including notable figures such as the late Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and members of the Ogoni Eight.

According to a statement from the Presidency, the decision followed recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).

However, Atiku condemned the inclusion of individuals convicted of serious crimes such as murder, corruption, fraud, drug trafficking, and illegal mining, insisting that the move “erodes public confidence in the justice system and emboldens criminality.”

“The decision to extend clemency to individuals convicted of grave crimes not only diminishes the sanctity of justice but sends a dangerous signal to the public and the international community about this government’s values,” Atiku said.

The former Vice President also raised alarm over the 29.2% of pardoned individuals reportedly convicted of drug-related offences, calling it “especially troubling” amid Nigeria’s growing drug abuse crisis.

“At a time when our youth are being destroyed by narcotics, it is shocking that the government would extend mercy to drug convicts. Even more disturbing is the moral irony of this act coming from a president whose past remains clouded by unresolved drug-related issues,” he stated.

Atiku argued that the presidential pardon should symbolise moral reform and restitution, not political favouritism or complicity in corruption.

“Clemency must never be confused with complicity. When a government begins to absolve offenders of the very crimes it claims to be fighting, it loses moral authority and emboldens lawlessness,” he added.

He concluded by urging Nigerians to demand leadership that upholds justice, not one that “trivialises it for convenience or political expediency.”