Chapter 6, Part 1, Section 175 of the Nigerian constitution gives the President of Nigeria the power of perogative of mercy. So when President Mohammadu Buhari exercised his power to pardon former Governors Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame of Plateau and Taraba States who were serving terms in jail for corruption on Thursday 14th of April , 2022 there was nothing wrong with it except for his abuse of power , breach of public trust and morality and endorsement of authority stealing .
The beneficiaries of president Buhari’s pardon are two corrupt public office holders who looted their States coffers of 1.16 and 1.6 billion Naira respectively and by so doing impoverished millions of Nigerians in their domain, sending many of them out of work , business , school and to their early graves. Their bread also send many into crimes , prostitution and other social vices .
In all of this , I ask what message is our President passing to the Nigerian public? He is simply telling them that they can go to hell and that it doesn’t matter if their wealth is stolen by their governors and that it is okay to loot . He is telling the judges that they are waisting their time adjudicating on corrupt cases because at the end of the day. convicts can be released . He is telling the law enforcement agencies like the police and EFCC that they are waisting their time arresting , investigating interrogating and prosecuting looters . He is teaching our children that it is okay to be a theft and that there is no deterrent since the president would always pardon thefts . He is telling politicians that it is business as usual .
This singular act of the government shows how insensitive , callous and lawless it is . What manner of government will spend so much of tax payers money in prosecuting corrupt persons and end pardoning them after conviction . Small wonder Nigerian remains a laughing stock in the community of nation .
