Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to grant presidential pardons to individuals convicted of serious crimes, describing the move as a moral and constitutional failure that undermines justice and erodes public confidence in leadership.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Atiku described the action as a gross abuse of executive privilege and a disturbing reflection of the administration’s values. He criticized the decision to extend clemency to persons convicted of drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption, calling it both insensitive and dangerous to Nigeria’s stability and international reputation.
According to him, while the presidential power of pardon is meant to “temper justice with mercy,” Tinubu’s action “achieved the very opposite.” He warned that the mass pardon “diminishes the sanctity of justice, demoralizes law enforcement officers, and makes a mockery of the criminal justice system.”
“The power of pardon is a solemn constitutional prerogative designed to uplift humanity and correct miscarriages of justice, not to reward individuals whose actions have plunged our nation deeper into insecurity, drug abuse, and corruption,” Atiku said. “What President Tinubu has done is an affront to the moral conscience of the Nigerian state.”
Expressing concern that nearly 30 percent of those pardoned were convicted of drug-related offences, Atiku said the move was “a slap in the face of Nigerian youths whose lives are being destroyed daily by narcotics.”
“It is shocking that at a time when Nigeria is battling drug addiction and moral decay, the government would rather pardon those who have contributed to this menace,” he said. “This is not mercy it is complicity.”
The former Vice President also drew attention to President Tinubu’s past controversies, alleging that the pardon decision mirrors the administration’s tolerance for criminality.
“It is not lost on Nigerians that this act of clemency comes from a President whose own past remains clouded by unanswered questions about drug-linked forfeitures abroad,” he said. “It explains why this government continues to demonstrate tolerance toward individuals tied to criminal enterprise.”
Atiku further argued that the move disrespects the sacrifices of law enforcement personnel and ignores the pain of victims of violent and economic crimes.
“A pardon should reflect moral reform and genuine remorse, not political convenience or misplaced sympathy,” Atiku said. “By absolving offenders of crimes the government claims to be fighting, the Tinubu administration has traded justice for impunity.”
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and reject what he called the dangerous normalization of corruption and criminality under the current administration.
“Nigeria deserves a government that upholds justice, not one that trivializes it,” he declared. “This reckless pardon has once again exposed the moral decay at the heart of this administration.”
