Atiku Attacks Tinubu Over Presidential Pardon

<h4>Atiku Attacks Tinubu<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<h4><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that former Vice President Atiku Abubarkar has attacked President Bola Tinubu over the recently released names of individuals granted pardon by the President&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In a statement titled &&num;8220&semi;<strong>Tinubu’s Reckless Use of Presidential Pardon Undermines Justice and Emboldens Criminality&comma;<&sol;strong> &&num;8221&semi; Atiku emphasized that what President Tinubu did demonstrate &&num;8220&semi;<em><strong>lawlessness&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;The statement reads in full&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>The recent announcement of a presidential pardon by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has&comma; as expected&comma; provoked outrage across the nation&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Ordinarily&comma; the power of presidential pardon is a solemn prerogative&comma; a moral and constitutional instrument designed to temper justice with mercy and to underscore the humanity of the state&period; When properly exercised&comma; it elevates justice and strengthens public faith in governance&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Regrettably&comma; the latest pardon issued by the Tinubu administration has done the very opposite&period; The decision to extend clemency to individuals convicted of grave crimes such as drug trafficking&comma; kidnapping&comma; murder&comma; and corruption not only diminishes the sanctity of justice but also sends a dangerous signal to the public and the international community about the values this government upholds&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>At a time when Nigeria continues to reel under the weight of insecurity&comma; moral decay&comma; and a surge in drug-related offences&comma; it is both shocking and indefensible that the presidency would prioritize clemency for those whose actions have directly undermined national stability and social order&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Particularly worrisome is the revelation that 29&period;2&percnt; percent of those pardoned were convicted for drug-related crimes at a time when our youth are being destroyed by narcotics&comma; and our nation is still struggling to cleanse its image from the global stain of drug offences&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>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&period; It is&comma; therefore&comma; no surprise that this administration continues to demonstrate a worrying tolerance for individuals associated with criminal enterprise&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>A presidential pardon is meant to symbolize restitution and moral reform&period; Instead&comma; what we have witnessed is a mockery of the criminal justice system&comma; an affront to victims&comma; a demoralization of law enforcement&comma; and a grave injury to the conscience of the nation&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Clemency must never be confused with complicity&period; When a government begins to absolve offenders of the very crimes it claims to be fighting&comma; it erodes the moral authority of leadership and emboldens lawlessness&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>Nigeria deserves a leadership that upholds justice&comma; not one that trivializes it&period; -AA<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;