Lagos lawyers Femi Falana (SAN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to pardon 70 soldiers found guilty of mutiny by various military court martial since 2014.
He made the request in a letter to the President on December 19, 2016, pursuant to Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution.
The 70 soldiers, whose death sentence was commutted to 10 years imprisonment, are in custody at the Ikoyi and Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos State.
Falana argued that since the demand of the convicted soldiers and others for weapons found justification in the criminal diversion of the fund provided for the purchase of arms and armament to fight terrorists, there was no legal and moral justification for the conviction and sentences imposed on them by the courts-martial.
“In Your Excellency’s interview aired by BBC Hausa Service on December 28, 2015, you observed that “the government at that time sent soldiers to the battlefield without arms and ammunition to prosecute the war. That was what led some of them to mutiny. They were arrested and detained because of this.”
“In the light of the foregoing, Your Excellency will agree with us that since the armed forces were not equipped to defend the territorial integrity of the nation the convicts did not commit mutiny or any other offence whatsoever in demanding for weapons to fight well armed insurgents. But assuming without conceding that our clients committed any offence they have suffered enough, having spent over three years in dehumanising prison conditions.
“However, since the demand for weapons to carry out counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast zone was legitimately made by our clients under the Armed Forces Act, we urge Your Excellency to grant them pardon pursuant to Section 175 of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 as amended”, he pleaded.
Falana listed grounds upon which he based his appeal.
He said: “The courts-martial, which tried our clients, deliberately failed to take cognisance of Section 179 of the Armed Forces Act, which permits “a soldier, rating or aircraftman to make a complaint to his commanding office and that he shall not be penalised for having made a complaint.
“The Arms Procurement Panel set up by Your Excellency has confirmed that the fund earmarked for the purchase of arms and ammunition was criminally diverted by former service chiefs and other senior military officers.
“The indicted military officers are being prosecuted by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for unlawful enrichment and criminal diversion of public funds.
He argued that members of the armed forces are not excluded from the application of fundamental rights, right to life, right to personal liberty, right to fair hearing, and right to freedom from discrimination.”
“In light of the foregoing, Your Excellency will agree with us that since the armed forces were not equipped to defend the territorial integrity of the nation the convicts did not commit mutiny or any other offence whatsoever in demanding for weapons to fight well armed insurgents. But assuming without conceding that our clients committed any offence they have suffered enough having spent over three years in dehumanising prison conditions”, he added.
Tag: pardon
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Falana seeks pardon for 70 soldiers serving 10 years for mutiny
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After 36 years in Kirikiri, man seeks pardon
He was 19 when he got to the Kirikiri Maximum Prison in Lagos on November 17, 1978. Thirty-six years after, Steven Ojoko is still an inmate there.
In 2001, former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu commented his sentence to life jail following which he was removed from death row.
Ojoko, who hails from Bayelsa State, has grown grey hair in prison. He looks frail and wears a permanent scowl on his face. Pa Oldest as he is called by other inmates wants out and he is appealing to the Federal and Lagos State Governments to release him.
“I have learnt my lesson”, he told our reporter who met him. Ojoko was sentenced to death in 1984 for armed robbery.
He was a trainee photographer, with a primary school leaving certificate.
“I don’t wish to die here. I have spent the most productive part of my life here. I appeal to the Government of Lagos State and the Federal Government to set me free and grant me pardon. I have learnt my lesson. This life has not been good to me,” Ojoko, who clocked 55 years old on June 17 said.
Ojoko, who once lived with his parents in Lagos, said he was arrested on August 25 by the police, for armed robbery and was taken before an High Court in Ikeja, which remanded him in prison on November 17, 1978 pending his trial.
On April 27, 1984, Justice I. O. Agoro (rtd) sentenced him to death.
Seeking pardon on grounds that he has “changed”, Ojoko said.
“Since I could not practice photography here (prison) because there are no facilities, I decided to learn other trades. I have since learnt how to make soap, cream and related products. I also know how to process snacks like fish roll, meat pie and all other products made from flour. When there are events here, I am asked to make the snacks that are served to guests.
“I thank the former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who in 2001 converted my death sentence to life imprisonment. I am now appealing to the government of Lagos State and the Federal Government to give me total freedom. I promise to play my part in the society as a good citizen. I have learnt my lesson.
“I hope to rely on the vocation I have learnt here in sustaining myself and helping the society when I am set free. So, I am pleading with the government to help me out of here. I have spent the most productive part of my life here.
“I am 55 years now. I was born on June 17, 1959. I lost my parents during this crisis. Although my late father has a house in Lagos, I hope to return to Bayelsa State once I am pardoned and set free. My relatives live there,” Ojoko said.
The Officer in Charge (OIC), Kirikiri Maximum Prison, M. O. O. Olaniran, an Assistant Controller of Prisons, confirmed Ojoko’s claim of being the oldest inmate in the prison, saying he has been there for about 36 years.
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Abia CJ grants four inmates pardon
THE acting Chief Judge of Abia State, Justice Shedrack Nwanosike, has granted pardon to four inmates of Aba Federal Prison in Aba, Abia State.
The inmates are Uduma Eke, a native of Ohafia Local Government Area, Chukwuemeka Young from Aba South Council, Ugochukwu Friday (Osisioma) and Chinweoke Ahuchaogu both from Isiala Ngwa North Council.
Nwanosike, who announced the gesture while on a visit to the prison, lamented the fact that the accused persons held in captivity would have served out their jail terms if they had been tried and convicted on the offences since 2010.
He stressed that the accused committed minor offences of assault and malicious damage.
He expressed displeasure with the attitude of keeping accused persons in detention for a long time without being tried.
He called on the state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the legal department of the Abia state Police Command to be effective in their duties and ensure that detailed information of the accused persons with their charges were filed inthe courts for quicker dispensation of justice.
Others that benefited from the prerogative of mercy of Justice Nwanosike were Sampson Nnaluem, Nkire Chigozie and Jacob Okereke who were granted bail in the sum of between N50, 000 to N100, 000 and sureties with three years tax paper clearance.
The acting Chief Judge charged the discharged persons to be of good behaviour and avoid any act that would bring them into disrepute.
He stressed that the full weight of the law shall be applied on them if found guilty of any crime in the future.
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State pardon not an excuse for corruption
On the CAMPUSLIFE’s section of April 25, 2013, a fellow writer from the Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, Msonter Anzaa, wrote an article titled: Presidential pardon as an excuse for corruption.
In the piece, the writer noted that after the jail term of Dieprieye Alamieyeseigha had elapsed, the former governor of Bayelsa State was reported to have been helping the Federal Government maintain peace in the creeks of the Niger Delta. He said President Goodluck Jonathan cited Alamieyesiegha’s personal undertaking as reason for granting him presidential pardon. My colleague described the pardon as “dubious”.
My grouse: why should a writer use such language to describe presidential action? Why did Msonter choose to write and narrow his points to reflect sentiment? Why did he not tackle the issue dispassionately?
The state pardon granted Gen. Oladipo Diya, the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, the late Gen. Abdukareem Adisa, Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju and others did not generate ‘national outcry’ except that of Alamieyesagha. Why should we fuss over Alamieyeseigha’s pardon; why did we not address if the pardon granted Diya, who called a press conference and demanded that Federal Government should re-open Oputa Panel report?
It should be noted that Alamieseigha was convicted on cases of corruption but all the army generals pardoned were tried for treason, a grievous crime against the state, which is more harmful than sleaze. Even to some political forces and opponents of Jonathan’s administration, the state pardon was condemnable and glorified corruption.
As the president is being called all sorts of names because of the state pardon, if those, who believed there was no cogent reason for the pardon were to be in position of authority, we wonder what they would have done.
Most time, I keep on asking myself, why so much hatred by most Nigerians towards the presidency? Jonathan granted a state pardon, what is wrong with that? Are they saying that the president should not exercise his constitutional duty to grant amnesty? Even the Lucifer sometimes has mercy on his servants.
Those who are against state pardon of Alamieyeseigha are only out to score cheap point, which will not take them anywhere.
My colleague, who referred to the state pardon as “dubious”, is ignorant of the precedent of such action in history. Msonter must know that former President Bill Clinton granted state pardon to 456 to Americans citizens while he was at the helm. Just to mention a few, Chris Harman Basley and Scott Lynn Banne, convicted on drug-related issues, were duly pardoned without much fuss from the Americans.
Gen Yakubu Gowon said that the presidential pardon granted to the convicted former governor was facilitated by the Council of States, which took the decision based on the premise that Alamieseigha had finished his jail term for the offence he committed and had promised not to commit such an offence again. Also, the former Head of State pointed out that it was within the constitutional powers of the president to pardon any person he so wishes. I agree with Dr Rueben Abati, who said that most Nigerians were ignorant of the state pardon, because the pardon was done within the constitutional right of the president.
If the president had gone out of the constitution, the criticism would have been torrential. They would have said he did not respect the constitution. Now, he exercised his constitutional power, they said he “over-exercise” his power.
Let us not attach constitutional issue to emotional matter. For me, to err is human but to forgive is divine. In so far nobody is beyond mistakes, there should be ways to make amendment. That is what the president has done for Alamieseigha and others granted pardon.
Is it not John 8:3-11 that Jesus set an adulterous woman free, and told her: “Woman, as any one condemned you, neither do I condemn you to go and sin no more?” Even Qu’ran 39 vs 53 tells us: “My slaves, who have transgressed against themselves by committing evil deeds or sin, despair not of the mercy of Allah. Verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly He oft forgiving and most merciful.”
Therefore, all those who have condemned the president’s action cannot be proven to have no stain of corruption. Let them be aware that no man is sinless on earth. Let Nigerians drop their sentimental garb and free themselves from misguided utterances that are capable of dividing this nation the more. The state pardon to Alamieyesiegha did not in any way stop the fight against corruption or an excuse for corruption.
Mark, 300-Level Business Education, Sch. of Technical Education, YABATECH
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Who needs Shekau’s pardon?
That is the definition of madness? There may not be a straightforward and definitive answer. On the complexity of insanity, Chinua Achebe’s thought-provoking short story, The Madman, published in Girls at War and Other Stories (1972) provides enlightening insight. The protagonist in the narrative, Nwibe, a successful figure in an Igbo rural setting, is about to take the Ozo title, a prestigious honour in the community. Then the bizarre happens.
The tragic hero stops for a bath at the local stream on his way from the farm. A naked lunatic, who has gone to the stream for a drink of water spots Nwibe’s loincloth, gathers it, wraps it around his waist, and speeds away with it. In a mindless reaction, Nwibe pursues the mischievous crazy man right into a crowded market, and the original difference between the two men is erased as onlookers redefine the characters. Nwibe’s world comes crashing down. He is viewed as a madman, and unworthy of the revered decoration he craves.
Indeed, there is a sense in which the latest bombshell from Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Islamist group Boko Haram, re-enacts Achebe’s creative work. Suddenly, reality has become hallucinatory, and no one seems sure anymore of anything. Just when the federal government, based perhaps on self-righteous calculations, sought to make peace with the destructive desperadoes, the unbelievable happened.
Rubbishing the government’s consideration of amnesty for the group, Shekau stunned the world with a statement that not only questioned social perception of its activities, but also extended the boundaries of human judgment. According to his reasoning, in a recorded audio message in Hausa, “Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you pardon.”
To go by Shekau’s logic, it is clearly appropriate to ask in reverse, “What wrong have the Nigerian government and the Nigerian people done?” His coup de theatre perfectly demonstrates what American novelist Phillip Roth describes as “the ecstasy of sanctimony.”
Shekau’s grudge statement was certainly significant for its revelatory quality, even if it fell short of listing the group’s grievances and saying why it is the government and the people that should be considered for pardon. However, it contained an even more profound revelation about his state of mind and the psychology of the group. It is mind-boggling that the group seems convinced of its self-presumed innocence. Is this an acute case of denial, or a self-justification inspired by a warped morality? Or could he be right in his claim that the group is the wronged party, rather than the wrong, in this hell of a story? Is there an ethical confusion that makes the sect right and society wrong?
Ordinarily, Shekau’s words would have made his mental health suspect. But can we be sure of the representative of madness? Can we with certainty label him insane on the basis of his implied defence of his group’s murderous bent? Who are the mad ones, Shekau’s fundamentalist militia or those who have dignified the group by supposing that it would appreciate the civility of pardon?
It is even more perplexing that the government seems frozen on the idea of forgiving the group’s atrocities. In an equally dramatic and incredible response to Shekau’s put-down, the Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs, Ahmed Gulak, insisted on finding a way to forgive the rudely remorseless. He told the press, “The decision of the Federal Government to set up the committee to work out modalities to grant amnesty to members of the sect is on course. No pronouncement by any individual or group or an attempt to blackmail government will stop it.”
There can be no clearer indication that the government itself is, regrettably, a casualty of mindlessness. It is ridiculous to think that forgiveness can be forced on people who refuse to acknowledge their wrong, and even consider the accuser the guilty party. It is noteworthy that the Niger Delta militants who are beneficiaries of a governmental amnesty accepted that they were wrong in their belligerent approach, even though their grievances were considered reasonable. Their armed protest against alleged inequitable distribution of revenue from the oil-rich region and environmental degradation was largely selective in its targets, and focused more on abduction of oil workers for ransom and disruption of oil-producing activities, although there were a few cases of bombings that affected the civilian population.
In the case of Boko Haram, the government has an unrepentant adversary with motives that do not speak to reason. At the heart of the group’s insurgency is the dream to Islamize the country and enthrone the Sharia. It has become increasingly radicalized since 2009, and its terror tactics has resulted in a reported death toll of an estimated 10,000 victims in the northern part of the country. In its reign of terror, the group has struck against the United Nations (UN) House, military and police facilities, churches, media offices and prisons. Other targets include a beer parlour, the convoys of a state governor and a respected emir, and a motor park. The group has no compunction about taking the lives of others, men, women and children; and even sacrificing the lives of its own members through chilling suicide bombings.
Evidently, the Boko Haram army and the pardoned Niger Delta militants share a common ground in the objective to make the country ungovernable, but the logic of parallel probably ends there. The truth is that the religious fundamentalists are in a world of their own, well beyond the material and ethical considerations that prompted the warriors of the Niger Delta to have a rethink. Boko Haram does not subscribe to the morality of the secular state, and apparently has no need for silver and gold.
However, it is interesting that the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) recently resumed open hostilities against the government, and threatened to expand the range of its targets to include mosques, hajj camps and Muslim clerics. Although this reversal was initially premised on the trial and imprisonment of the group’s leader, Henry Okah, in South Africa on charges related to terror acts carried out by the group in Nigeria, it has obviously developed into a kind of counterpunch against Boko Haram.
If MEND carries out its threat, the consequence will be a balance of terror. It remains to be seen, though, whether such development will tame Boko Haram. It is remarkable that MEND, which was itself a beneficiary of governmental amnesty, has plans to return to the trenches against a group that is disdainful of state pardon. There is the possibility of opportunism in MEND’s posture, but it is not without a positive side in its opposition to the killer religious zealots.
In this picture, the government cannot have a redeeming image. It shows that amnesty for terror champions is perhaps too easy and too cheap, and probably lacks effectiveness as a deterrent. Counter-terrorism should seek to overpower violence, not overlook criminal brutality.
• Macaulay is on the editorial board of The Nation
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Theology of political pardon
It is the prerogative of the President in Council to grant clemency to anyone who has been under one kind of punishment or the other. The Nigerian Constitution section 175(1) states that the President may grant any person … convicted of any offence … a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions. In other words, presidential pardon is an act of grace which exempts individual(s) from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime the individual might have committed. This legal discretion on the part of the President is not a privilege enjoyed only by the Nigerian Presidents, even the President of the United States enjoys such a privilege. It is reported that former President Clinton of the United States granted 140 pardons on his last day in office and defended his action by stating that the framers of their constitution vested such broad powers on the President so that he would have the freedom to do what he deemed to be the right thing regardless of how unpopular such a decision might be.
So what offence has President Goodluck Jonathan committed in granting pardon to some offenders including his former boss, former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha? I think the opposition to the President’s action is due to a wrong understanding or wrong interpretation of the concept of forgiveness. The essence of forgiveness is divine not human. It is in this connection that Shakespeare said in one of his works that “if Justice by thy plea consider this, that in course of Justice none of us shall see salvation, we do pray for mercy and that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.”
Essentially, forgiveness is divine. Since theology helps any religion to give an intellectual explanation of its beliefs and practices, even so, we can interpret the concept of forgiveness theologically to mean a spiritual factor that does not measure or limit the number of times it forgives an offender. Why? Because forgiveness is a thing of the spirit; a quality of the spirit. All spiritual sensibilities or realities such as love, mercy, grace, joy and forgiveness can not be measured or limited. They are by their very nature spiritual not physical.
Forgiveness is a reality of the spirit. It is to be practiced at every opportunity. The spirit of forgiveness is to forgive 70 times seven i.e without counting. So says our Lord Jesus Christ in Matt. 18:21-27.
Good human relationships are impossible without a forgiving spirit. Offending others is common to all. We are all sinful and we all offend others. If we kept score, there would be little time to do any other thing. To keep relationships healthy, sweet, strong and stable, we need to note at least four things. That sinning, failing and offending others are common to us all. That offending others is usually unintentional. All of us offend others, but we are often unaware that we have offended them. Keeping this in mind helps us to forgive others when they offend us. We offend others as much as they offend us. We are as human as the next person, and we need forgiveness as much as the next person. Finally, the common response to being offended is to react: react by withdrawing, or engaging in retaliation or vengeance, or retreat into self-pity or in to a spirit of un-forgiveness.
The attributes of an un-forgiving spirit are basically those of ill-nature, self-centeredness, and spiritual immaturity. Un-forgiveness reveals that a person has not grown to be like Jesus Christ in understanding, compassion, mercy and love. There is a parable in Matt. 18: 28 – 35 where the king forgave his servant who could not pay the huge debt the servant owed him. The lesson here is that we all are bankrupt (unable to pay) God what we owe Him. Sin makes a man bankrupt and puts him in debt to God. We are made so bankrupt by our sin that nothing can pay our debt yet God forgives us all our debt. In spite of this, we often find it difficult to forgive our fellowmen who have wronged us. Why? The reason is shown in the story below.
In the same parable quoted above, the servant who was forgiven saw a fellow servant who owed him. He reacted severely by attacking the debtor; and attempting to squeeze the payment out of him. He got angry and showed malice, no mercy. The offended servant rejected the cry for mercy and refused to forgive. He acted selfishly although his reaction was in accordance to law and justice. The man really owed the servant. The debt was a just and legal debt. The servant had every right to demand and force payment. Such is justice. But remember as Shakespeare would put it if justice by the plea, consider this, that in the course of justice none of us shall see Salvation, that is why we plead for mercy, and that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.
Again, let’s remember the divine point here: The King, (God), does not act towards us legally, executing justice; He has compassion and mercy upon us and forgives us, wiping out all our debts. The question is how often should we forgive our brother? The divine answer is as many times as he offends you. So let us have compassion and mercy, and not demand justice per se. Do not execute the law; do not trample an offender underfoot; do not act cruelly, swallowing him up and destroying his spirit. Love him and forgive him ‘just as Christ in God forgives you’ (Eph.4:32).
So I proffer Christian theological perspective to the concept of pardon to mean a divine spiritual virtue that reminds us that to err is human and to forgive is divine. There were many sick people at the pool of Bethsaida, but Christ chose to heal only one person. That was an exercise of his discretion. Even so, President Jonathan should be allowed the freedom to exercise his presidential discretion in granting pardon to his former boss.
• The Most Rev. Prof. Uka is Prelate and Moderator of The General Assembly, The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria.
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State pardon: Group seeks minutes of meeting
An anti-corruption group, the Say No Campaign, has asked the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, to provide it with a copy of the minutes of the National Council of State meeting where the decision to grant state pardon to some convicted Nigerians was taken.
Among those granted pardon at the meeting, held on March 12, was former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diprieye S.P. Alamiyeseigha and six others.
The group made the request on March 21 based on sections 1(1), 1(2) and 3 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 2011.
It said the demand was due to the need for Nigerians to know how “this ridiculous decision” was taken.
The group said it was against the backdrop of denials by some members of the National Council of State that the pardons were not discussed.
The request, signed by Ezenwa Nwagwu and Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), added: “If this assertion is true, it raises serious question on the legal validity of this decision and effectively annuls these pardons.
“We are hoping that the SGF will expeditiously attend to this request in the interest of rule of law and transparency.
“We also wish to reiterate our unequivocal condemnation of this pardon as expressed by the civil society groups working on anti-corruption press statement of March 14th 2013.
“The Say No Campaign is a platform of Nigerians committed to fighting corruption and impunity.
“It is committed to ensuring not only the reversal of the pardon granted to persons convicted for corruption but also to promote good governance and rule of law in Nigeria.”
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Soyinka faults Alamieyeseigha’s pardon
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday sided with opponents of President Goodluck Jonathan’s pardon granted former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
The Nigerian Bar Association described the action as a moral burden for the president.
Soyinka said government is justifying the unjustifiable.
He said he had joined the “ignorant Nigerians” who condemn the pardon.
Prof. Soyinka spoke on Ghost Missions on the gravy train in Lagos yesterday.
Answering questions from reporters after inaugurating the NBA Web-Portal in Abuja, NBA President Okey Wali (SAN), said judging by the criticisms trailing the pardon to Alameyeiseigha, “it is clearly a bad signal”.
“No doubt it is a moral issue. No doubt it is a bad signal put against the fight against corruption”, he said.
Although he agreed that the president has the constitutional privilege to do so, Wali stressed the need to feel the pulse of the public before taking sensitive decisions.
“Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) gives the president the power in consultation with Council of State, so does Section 202 give the states governors the power in consultation with State Advisory Council on prerogative of mercy.
“Unless we knew what the council knew in respect of that decision, we can’t say much on that. But ask me as a lawyer, I will tell you that it is the constitutional privilege of the president. Whether he has exercised the power correctly or not, is a moral question on him.
According to the NBA boss, all over the world, the issue of pardon has never been a popular act of any president.
Replying to a question, he said:
“I’m not going to ridicule the NBA. I won’t issue any ultimatum because if I do and the president failed to obey, I would have no right of legal action”.
Urging the president to keep to his promise before the partial withdrawal of fuel subsidy, Wali said “it is not enough to say subsidy must go”, as Nigerians must be convinced and believe in the government.
The NBA boss said the association would join coordinated actions by civil society groups to resist the unpopular policy if government insisted.
The commissioned portal contains the list of lawyers called to the bar as registered in the Supreme Court from the time the late George Baptist Ayodola Coker was called to the bar in 1847.
Wali said this would help the association to fight quackery in the profession.
Also reacting to the president’s insistence on complete fuel subsidy withdrawal, the association asked Jonathan to account for what he has achieved with the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).
Soyinka also reacted to government’s clarifications on the budgetary allocations for the First ladies Mission mansion in Abuja saying “when did the private interests of the rulers’ wives become an international obligation?”
He noted that even if the late former Head of Gen. Sani Abacha’s First Lady presumed to act for Nigeria, “how does this commit a democratic government to the presumptuousness of the mere appendage of the head of a member state?”
Soyinka said though first ladies have the same right as all citizens to leave a legacy behind, they must work hard to source their funds where the rest of the world does, not dip their hands into public funds.
He also decried the role ministers have played in elevating the culture of grovelling sycophancy to the status of governance virtue, which he said, has contributed in no small measure to the abuse of constitutional provisions and irresponsible budgetary attributions.
“Instead of remaining a dark, embarrassing secret, it is confidently aired on international media such as the Voice of America, turning this nation into a space of ridicule and self-inflicted disdain. It is not all sycophancy however, it is projects! Projects with minimal overseeing and accounting, gravy trains with adept practitioners at the controls,” he added.
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Post-mortem of a pardon
NO event has been this tendentious in recent history. Not even the President’s handling of the deadly Boko Haram insurgency. Nor the reckless fuel subsidy removal of last year and the criminal negligence of our roads and hospitals; the novelty of governors just taking off on “well deserved” holidays and the emotional sight of old men and women protesting their unpaid pensions. None.
The presidential pardon handed DSP Alamieyeseigha, a chief, former governor of Bayelsa State, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, ex-convict and – thanks to his munificence – governor-general of the Ijaw nation – has put the Presidency under fire since it was packaged and delivered eight days ago.
No doubt, President Goodluck Jonathan must have reviewed the situation with his friends, aides and associates. What was his conclusion? Regrets? Triumph? Who said what behind the scene? Are more pardons coming? Who are the VIP ex-convicts clamouring for pardon? Editorial Notebook’s reportorial skills have been pressed into action to resolve these and many other questions to which readers are seeking answers.
Thankfully, I ran into an uncle of mine in Sangotedo – the tiny beach town on the outskirts of Lekki, the Lagos home of the rich – whose friend’s brother claimed to have met a senior official of the Presidency who swore that he attended one of those post-mortem sessions. The source, I was told, pleaded not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, and the fact that he is not authorised to speak to the press.
Here is his unconfirmed report of the aftermath of what has been described by some critics of the presidential action as the alarming pardon:
Dr Jonathan sits down on a sofa, the national flag resting behind him. He is surrounded by some aides, friends and associates. He whips out a handkerchief to rub his face, smiles and adjusts his position. They all greet him.
Thank you, gentlemen. You’re all welcome. And, if I may ask: How do you people see this pardon for those they called coup plotters and the other people?
The aides keep quiet. But before the President could go on, a leading businessman, who is a regular visitor to the Villa, cuts in.
My President, you know I won’t deceive you. That was a great decision. The critics have not been fair to you. They say your chief target was your former boss, DSP, and that you only used the others to pad the list and make it look national and sincere. Don’t bother yourself about busybodies. A great leader must take decisions – popular or unpopular – but history will not be kind to any leader who refuses to take bold decisions.
Thank you, chief. You see, I don’t give a damn. The question is: don’t I have the right to pardon anybody that I wish to pardon? Doesn’t the Bible say ‘I will have mercy on who I will?’ Here is a man who has helped me; no; a man who has been so helpful to this country. The creeks are quiet, oil production is rising; do they think it’s their noise? Honestly, I don’t give a damn!
You’re right sir. There has been so much jubilation in Bayelsa. Big celebration. I saw it with my two eyes on television. I saw Alams on an open roof vehicle, waving to the cheering crowd. In fact, as I was coming here, somebody called me to tell me how this boy, em…em… James Ibori, received the news. He said the guy was lamenting, saying: “Shoo! See Alams o. E don free. Dem say he fit contest again to be senator or whatever. Why me I run comot? Even Lucky dey enjoy now, after coming back from court. Ha…I don yab. I fall my people hand.”
Really? You see, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. As far as I’m concerned, I have taken a decision, approved by the Council of State, a body of our most experienced people, including elders and giants in law. So, what are they talking about? I’m here to take decisions and I have taken a decision. If you’re not pleased with my decision, you’re free to go to court.
I agree with you sir. You see, a decision that is not popular with some people is being celebrated by others. It’s all politics. A friend of mine has just told me that you’ll soon be getting applications for such pardon. I understand Tafa Balogun is interested and I said, ‘why not?’ He was a damn good police officer; only the money problem. They said he stole, but his friends are saying he got no fair trial. This is a government of rule and law. And it must be seen to be so. Then, one crazy fellow was crying that Abdulrasheed Maina should come out of hiding.
Another, who claims to be an economist and financial expert, said he heard from a reliable source that Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi would not seek another term. You know who he suggested as Sanusi’s successor? Shettima Bulama, the former Bank of the North chief and beneficiary of the pardon.
Thank you bo. If the only thing I can do to help the man is what I have done, I have no apology. God used him to draw me into politics. The man has gone to jail. He has lost weight. He has lost property. What else do they want; make he quench? They say his pardon will undermine the war against corruption. But I ask, how? Just one man? Did he not serve? Abeg make I hear word.
And somebody was saying Baba ,the one in Ota, that he was scorning the whole thing, that when he saw it in the newspapers, he screamed: “Alams pardoned…I dey laugh o!” When his boys asked him, “Baba, what’s the matter?” He started grumbling: “A man I sent to jail kulee and he came out jeje. Now, he’s pardoned. If that is what they want to be doing now, dat na dem toro. Alaremu has done his own. I started the EFCC. They said I was using it to grab my enemies. I wonder who I should have been using it to catch; my kids? Now they are free to be using it for their former ogas. Me I don do my own.
(The President, pointing to one of his aides, a suppressed smile on his dry lips).What is all this talk about clemency, amnesty, pardon and all those gymnastics.
Sir (an aide springs up to his feet, adjusts his jacket and straightens his bent tie). Mr President sir…em…emm. I don’t see the point they are trying to make. It’s all grammatical gymnastics, as you have rightly observed. In fact, there is so much ignorance about this matter and I have told them that the critics are suffering from sophisticated ignorance, which has heightened their anger. And they need some remedial tranquilisers for mollification of the situation.
Hmm…I trust you! When people are ignorant and they see politics in everything, they won’t learn. As for us, we must refuse to lose focus. We must.
(Another aide is struggling to rise onto his feet, the leather seat screeching, as if it’s crying to be freed of the weight that has been dumped on it. He eventually stands up, a file in his hand).Mr Presden sir. I went on television the very next day after the Council decision. And I told all those armchair critics to stop it. You ask a thief to run; he runs. You ask him to drop what he has stolen; he drops it. What else do you want?
(The room burst into laughter, sparked by the strange allegory of the aide. In this lighter mood, another aide stands up to talk). Sir, the joke in town now is playing on the word “Alams”. They say: “Latest entries in Nigerian Urban Dictionary”: 1. Alams (noun). (i) An oga at the top who is much higher than a mere political godfather; he is generally believed to have the swagger of a tribal deity.
(ii) Anyone who is intimate with oga at the top
2. Alam: verb. To pardon someone of corruption e.g: “ Our accountant has been sacked for embezzlement of company funds but the board has alamed him.”
Everybody was seized by laughter. The session closes as the President turns to the staircase, saying: “Good night, gentlemen.”
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Pardon for Alams and others a dangerous precedent
SIR: The pardon granted by President Jonathan few days ago to Alamieyeseigha and others didn’t come as a surprise to us, and we wonder why it is for many both here at home and abroad. From the outset, we knew the character of the man the majority of Nigerians chose or elected to become their president in 2011 due chiefly to sentiments, and we didn’t mince our words in sounding the warning but as is often the case, no one listened; today we are reaping the fruit of our choice, the Presidency has been reduced to an ethnic affair.
Why is it so difficult to understand that this administration is corruption personified? Issue after issue has evidently shown that this administration will never combat corruption; it will rather swim in it and shield corrupt officials. Even the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) indicted this administration when last year, it clearly stated in the Annual General Meeting of the Coalition against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) that the reason why the commission has become so ineffective and sloppy is due to lack of political will and support from the Administration.
But let us be clear on this issue: the presidential pardon thing is not necessarily a constitutional issue but a crucial moral issue. The President has the constitutional powers to grant pardon, but he has chosen to abuse those powers. Regretfully, he has by his immoral abuse of his constitutional powers set a dangerous precedent for present and future generations of Nigerians who will now see nothing wrong with stealing, pilfering and looting of our patrimony and commonwealth; after all, they can always in the end get needless plea bargains, buy justice in the courts or get presidential pardons by simply getting close to the corridors of power. So the big issue really is not whether the President has constitutional powers to grant pardon; the real issue is whether he has the right to abuse those constitutional powers by making a mockery of the constitution and of our justice system, and granting pardon to hardened and unrepentant criminals who have raped our collectivity, and then try to make the pardon credible by including names of notable Nigerians who were persecuted under military juntas.
On this issue, there is only one demand that we make on the President. He should advise his propagandist, Dr. Doyin Okupe to desist further from insulting the intelligence of the Nigerian people; the President is not our parent who by his whims and caprices solely decides what we want; in fact most parents don’t do that. Okupe must realise that the President and other public officials, elected or otherwise, are only first among equals; every Nigerian has an equal stake in this patrimony. We have no other demand to make on the administration on this issue because ultimately, it is up to the Nigerian people to decide what they want to do, and we hope they will rise to the occasion even if not for themselves but for their children and unborn generations.
• Eneruvie Enakoko
Conscience Reports,
Onikan, Lagos