LAGOS —
Outrage, yesterday, greeted the rumoured state pardon granted former Bayelsa
State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, and former head, Bank of the North,
Shettima Bulama, by President Goodluck Jonathan as Nigerians described it as a
shame and a set back to the fight against corruption in the country.
This came as Governor Murtala Nyako of
Adamawa State who spoke in Hausa to some journalists at the end of the closed
door meeting of the Council of State said the Council did not discuss the issue
of amnesty to adherents of Jama’atul Ahlus Sunnah Lid da’awati wal Jihad,
otherwise known as Boko Haram, and other convicts, saying such would have
raised political tension in the country.
Others who
were rumoured to have also been granted state pardon include late former Chief
of Staff, Supreme Military Council, and brother of the late President, Major
-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua; former Chief of General Staff, General Oladipo
Diya; Major Bello Magaji (rtd); Mohammed Lima Biu; Major-General
Abdulkareem Adisa (post humous) and Major Segun Fadipe (rtd).
The anger began early, yesterday, when rumour
started in the morning on the social media that the Council of State, headed by
President Goodluck Jonathan, had granted state pardon to his former boss and
BayelsaState ex-Governor, Alamieyeisegha.
Alamieyeseigha was detained in London on charges
of money laundering while he was governor in September 2005. He escaped from
the UK in December 2005. He, however, pleaded guilty in court to a
six-count charge in July 2007, and was sentenced to two years in prison
on each count charge.
Bulama was investigated and later prosecuted for
corruption by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Presidential pardon, official
jailbreak—Aturu
In his reaction, Lagos lawyer, Bamidele Aturu,
in a statement entitled: “Presidential Pardon is official Jailbreak: So
don’t Dare!” said if the government succeeds in pardoning the former
governor, “the government and its members will certainly live to regret
the irresponsible decision. That is a promise.
“Civil society groups will do all in its power
to show the whole world that those who claim to govern us are nothing but
common crooks who deserve to be in jail. In my view, it is better to fling open
the gates of all our prisons and ask all the inmates to walk out into the warm
embrace of their relatives than pardon those who force otherwise decent
Nigerians to take to crime as a way of life. A word is enough for the wise.”
It’s shocking, confusing and
disheartening—Keyamo
Condemning the alleged pardon, another Lagos
lawyer, Festus Keyamo, in a statement said the rumoured pardon “teaches no
bitter lesson to thieving and corrupt public officers. It encourages corruption
at the highest and the lowest levels of public office and the decision itself
is corruption par excellence.”
Keyamo described the rumoured pardon as
“shocking, confusing and disheartening” at a time when the general mood of the
country indicates that the war against corruption is insincere, slow and a
sham.”
Keyamo went on to say that the alleged
President’s effort rubbishes “the very little work that has been done by the
anti-corruption agencies in securing the conviction of these individuals. It is
also disturbing that at a time when Nigeria is still ranking very low in the
Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International the President has
further damaged the image of the country by this singular act.”
Another commentator, Comrade Akinloye Olusegun
Oyeniyi, asked: “If an Alams can get a state pardon, why not for a Saro Wiwa?”
In Yenagoa, President Goodluck Jonathan on
December 12 described Alamieyeseigha, as his political benefactor and
that his former boss brought him into political limelight.
Pardon in order —Sagay
Constitutional
lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay, said the rumoured pardon was in order. Speaking
with Vanguard on
telephone, Sagay said: “Let us start from Abdulkarem Adisa who tried to
overthrow the late Sani Abacha. What he tried to do was salutary for the
country. In other words, what he did was something very positive and very
welcome. So, the pardon is a good gesture.
“In the case of Alamieyeseigha, he was
convicted, he spent time in prison. As far as I know, quite a number of
his assets were confiscated because there was plea bargaining. He has paid the
price for what he did. Time has passed and maybe in recognition of the role he
played as a stalwart of the South-South, trying to promote their struggle to
what I call national enslavement, in a way, he deserves it.
“Dipo Diya comes under the same umbrella as
Adisa and so I support it. I think all together, the position taken today was
benevolent and very positive. I have nothing against it at all.”
Our morals have gone to the dogs—Afenifere
Pan-Yoruba
socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, described the pardon as one done in bad
light.
In a
telephone chat with Vanguard, National Publicity Secretary ofAfenifere, Mr
Yinka Odumakin, said: “We are back in the days of Babangida. In the Babangida
days, when they wanted to pardon some crooks and criminals, he would tie it to
the time he wants to release Beko, Gani Fawehinmi and the rest of them. Only,
this time around, a similar thing is being done.
We should grant some dead
robbers state pardon — CPC
National Publicity Secretary of Congress for
Progressive Change, Mr Rotimi Fashakin, in his reaction said: “From the look of
things, I think it is time for Nigeria to grant a post humous state pardon to
some people like Isola Oyenusi, Anini and others who were robbers in the 1970s.
I also think we should apologise to those robbers that are dead now and accord
them same constitutional pardon. This rumoured pardon on Alamieyeseigha, Diya
and others is laughable and it shows the kind of leaders we have in this
country.”
We didn’t discuss issue of
state pardon —Nyako
“We didn’t discuss the issue of amnesty to Boko
Haram adherents. It could be controversial to raise such issues. What needs to
be done is for the matter to be extensively deliberated before a universal
decision is brought into public domain,” Governor Nyako said.
He refuted stories making the round that the
former Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was granted state
pardon by the Council. Instead, he said the Council deliberated on the
possibility of granting state clemency to certain category of offenders both at
state and federal levels.
According to him, “no such issue (pardon for
erring governors) was discussed. I didn’t see the name of any governor. But we
considered the issue of state pardon for people who committed certain offences.
“We observed that in cases of manslaughter,
pardon for such should be handled by state governors if they are committed in
such states. But if it is the case of armed robbery the Council may decide to
grant pardon or the matter could be referred to the President for his
consideration.”
What the constitution says
Section 175 (1) says: The President may (a)
grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act
of the National Assembly a pardon either free or subject to lawful conditions;
(b)grant to any person a respite, either for an
indefinite or for a specified period, of the execution of any punishment
imposed on that person for such an offence; or
(c) substitute a less severe form of punishment
for any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence; or
(d) remit the whole or any part of any
punishment imposed on that person for such an offence or of any penalty or
forfeiture otherwise due to the state on account of such an offence
(2) The powers of the President under subsection
(1) of this section shall be exercised by him after consultation with the
Council of State
(3) The President acting in accordance with the
advice of the Council of State, may exercise his powers under subsection (1) of
this section in relation to persons concerned with offences against the army,
naval or air force law or convicted or sentenced by a court-martial.
Source: Vanguard
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