Public commentator and academic, Farooq Kperogi, has expressed outrage over what he described as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inconsistent and insensitive handling of the recent presidential clemency exercise, particularly the inclusion of convicted murderers, kidnappers, and drug barons among the beneficiaries.
In a strongly worded statement titled “Maryam Sanda: Can Tinubu Do Anything Right for Once?”, Kperogi criticised the government for what he called a “presidential flip-flop” that undermines public trust.
“Why is this Tinubu government so exasperatingly allergic to doing anything right?” Kperogi asked. “It issued a news release saying it had reversed its invidious pardon of notoriously cold-blooded murderers, drug barons, and kidnappers.”
He recalled that many Nigerians, himself included, had initially praised the administration for listening to public outrage and reversing the controversial pardons. But, according to him, that hope was short-lived.
“Just when many of us were impressed enough by what appeared to be the government’s unaccustomed sensitivity to public outrage and wrote to acknowledge it, it reversed its reversal!” Kperogi lamented.
He particularly cited the case of Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death for killing her husband, but is now reportedly among those whose sentences have been softened under the presidential clemency initiative.
“Maryam Sanda, the insensate husband killer, will be free in a few years,” he fumed. “Many other cold-blooded murderers whose clemency had been reversed have also had their pardons quietly restored in different forms.”
Kperogi said he doubted there had “ever been any record of this kind of presidential flip-flop in the exercise of the prerogative of mercy,” describing the move as a dangerous precedent.
“Tinubu chose a matter as sensitive as pardon for notorious criminals to pointlessly dribble, and monkey with the emotions of Nigerians,” he added.
The controversy surrounding the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy has drawn sharp criticism from various quarters, with many calling for greater transparency and stricter standards in granting clemency to convicted offenders.
