Onyekachi Eze 
Northern Elements In ADC Consider Southern Aspirant To Run Against Atiku
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to grant presidential pardons to individuals convicted of serious crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption, describing it as “reckless” and “a grave assault on justice.”
In a statement on Sunday, Atiku said the clemency not only diminishes the sanctity of justice but also sends a dangerous signal to Nigerians and the international community about the moral values of the current administration.
He stressed that the presidential pardon is “a solemn prerogative” designed to temper justice with mercy, not to shield offenders from accountability.
“When properly exercised, it elevates justice and strengthens public faith in governance,” Atiku said. “But this latest pardon by the Tinubu administration is the direct opposite.”
The former vice president expressed concern that at a time when Nigeria is grappling with insecurity, moral decay, and rising drug-related crimes, “the presidency would prioritise clemency for those whose actions have directly undermined national stability and social order.”
Atiku noted that 29.2 percent of those pardoned were convicted of drug-related offences, describing it as “deeply troubling” for a nation still battling to cleanse its image from global drug stigma.
“Even more disturbing is the moral irony that this act of clemency is coming from a president whose own past remains clouded by unresolved and unexplained issues relating to the forfeiture of thousands of dollars to the United States government over drug-related investigations,” he said.
Atiku added that the move reflects a “worrying tolerance for individuals associated with criminal enterprise.”
He argued that presidential pardon should symbolise restitution and moral reform, lamenting that the Tinubu administration has instead turned it into “a mockery of the criminal justice system, an affront to victims, a demoralisation of law enforcement, and a grave injury to the conscience of the nation.”
“Clemency must never be confused with complicity,” Atiku said. “When a government begins to absolve offenders of the very crimes it claims to be fighting, it erodes the moral authority of leadership and emboldens lawlessness.
“Nigeria deserves a leadership that upholds justice, not one that trivialises it.”
