Photo File: former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticised President Bola Tinubu’s recent use of the presidential pardon, describing it as a reckless act that undermines justice and emboldens criminality.

In a statement posted on his official X handle on Sunday, Atiku said the constitutional prerogative of mercy is meant to balance justice with compassion, but lamented that the Tinubu administration has turned it into what he called “a trivial and dangerous exercise.”

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

According to the Presidency, the pardon followed recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN). The list reportedly included individuals convicted of serious crimes such as homicide, illegal mining, and financial fraud.

Atiku, however, faulted the inclusion of such offenders, arguing that the action erodes public confidence in Nigeria’s justice system and “sends a dangerous signal that crime can be excused by power.”

He stated:

“Ordinarily, the power of presidential pardon is a solemn prerogative — a moral and constitutional instrument designed to temper justice with mercy and to underscore the humanity of the state. When properly exercised, it elevates justice and strengthens public faith in governance.”

The former Vice President added that the latest round of clemency “has done the very opposite,” insisting that pardoning individuals convicted of grave crimes such as murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and corruption “diminishes the sanctity of justice and damages Nigeria’s global image.”

Atiku expressed particular concern over the inclusion of offenders convicted for drug-related crimes, saying such leniency contradicts the government’s public stance against narcotics and youth drug abuse.

“Particularly worrisome is the revelation that 29.2 percent of those pardoned were convicted for drug-related crimes at a time when our youth are being destroyed by narcotics. Even more disturbing is the moral irony that this act of clemency is coming from a President whose own past remains clouded by unresolved issues relating to drug-related investigations in the United States,” he said.

He further described the pardon as “a mockery of the criminal justice system,” adding that it was “an affront to victims, a demoralization of law enforcement, and a grave injury to the conscience of the nation.”

Concluding his statement, Atiku maintained that clemency must never be mistaken for complicity, warning that “a government that absolves offenders of the very crimes it claims to be fighting loses its moral authority and encourages lawlessness.”

“Nigeria deserves a leadership that upholds justice, not one that trivializes it,” he declared.