The Presidency, on Saturday, released a list of 175 individuals who benefited from the 2025 Presidential Pardon, among them the late nationalist Herbert Macaulay, the late Major General Mamman Vatsa, and Maryam Sanda, who had been sentenced to death for killing her husband.
However, the inclusion of over 30 convicted drug offenders and others jailed for homicide, fraud, and illegal mining has triggered a storm of criticism.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the pardon as “pathetic and a national disgrace,” warning that it undermines the country’s war on drugs and encourages criminality.
“It amounts to a most irresponsible abuse of the presidential prerogative of mercy to grant express pardon to dozens of convicts held for drug trafficking and related offences — especially when many have barely served two years for crimes that attract life imprisonment,” the party said.
The ADC argued that the pardon sends the wrong message that token remorse and short-term rehabilitation are enough to escape justice, adding that the gesture “makes a mockery of NDLEA officers who risk their lives to fight drug crimes.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also joined in condemning the move, saying it “rightly sparked nationwide outrage.”
Atiku said while the presidential power of mercy was designed to balance justice with compassion, its misuse “weakens public confidence in the rule of law.”
“Extending clemency to individuals convicted of grave crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption diminishes the sanctity of justice and sends a dangerous signal to both the public and the international community,” he said.
He added that 29.2 percent of those pardoned were drug offenders, which he called “shocking and indefensible” at a time when Nigeria faces worsening drug abuse and moral decline.
Atiku further questioned the moral credibility of the pardon, referring to Tinubu’s past controversies regarding a U.S. drug-related forfeiture case, saying, “It is no surprise that this administration shows tolerance for individuals linked to criminal enterprise.”
He called for a review of the clemency process to ensure fairness, transparency, and protection of public interest, insisting that “Nigeria needs leaders who defend justice, not those who undermine it.”
