The African Democratic Congress (ADC), has described the presidential pardon to dozens of convicted drug traffickers and smugglers by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as “pathetic and a national disgrace”, warning that the development seriously undermines Nigeria’s anti-drug efforts.
It noted that the pardon is coming at a time when Nigeria is still regarded as a major transit point for illicit drugs while we face a serious national pandemic of drug use, especially among our youths.
ADC further noted that the pardons also send reverberations beyond Nigeria’s borders as they undercut Nigeria’s standing among global partners in the fight against drug trafficking and give the unfortunate impression to the rest of the world that the country, under President Tinubu, has particular sympathy for drug dealers and that Nigeria is a risk-free jurisdiction for traffickers in narcotics.
While condemning the decision, the ADC stressed that the move will encourage crime, and further tarnish Nigeria’s image in the eyes of the world.
The coalition party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said it found the presidential pardon of hardened criminals absolutely pathetic and an act of immense national disgrace, emphasising that it amounted to a most irresponsible abuse of the presidential power of prerogative of mercy to grant express pardon to dozens of convicts held for drug trafficking, smuggling, and related offences, especially when most of the convicts have barely served two years in jail for offences that carry a penalty of life imprisonment.
According to ADC; “It appears that all it takes to get presidential clemency for even the worst of crimes in Nigeria, including drug trafficking, gun running, and murder, is to show remorse and learn skills.
“Pardons and clemency are granted for their social utility and to correct perceived miscarriages of justice, and to convicts who have paid their debts to society. But we wonder what Nigeria stands to benefit from this act of clemency to convicts serving life sentences who have barely served two years.
“Several reports have it that Nigeria’s drug use stands at an estimated 14.4%, almost three times the global average of 5.5%. For years, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other security agencies have risked life and limb to combat this problem, dismantle illicit drug networks, intercept consignments, prosecute offenders, and secure convictions.
“The men and women in these agencies have laboured under enormous risk and pressure to protect the public from the scourge of addiction, trafficking, and related crimes that carry some of the harshest penalties in Nigerian law, precisely because of their devastating impact on public health, youth development, and national security.
“Granting clemency to individuals convicted under such laws therefore strikes at the very foundation of Nigeria’s legal and moral stance against narcotics and makes a mockery of the gallant efforts of officers fighting the battle against narcotics and illicit drugs.
“Make no mistake, with this mass clemency for drug dealers, President Tinubu and the APC are redefining the standard of morality in our country. They are gradually transforming Nigeria into a country where anything goes, where even the worst of crimes attract no punishment beyond a few months of inconvenience for the criminal to, by their assessment, show remorse,” the coalition said.
Abdullahi said that the mission of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) remains clear; to rescue the Nigeria from the APC, to whom public opinion or accountability means nothing, and power and impunity mean everything.
