President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has signed the Instrument of Clemency and Pardon, formally exercising his constitutional powers of prerogative of mercy to grant pardon and clemency to selected individuals earlier convicted of various offences.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the President’s decision followed consultations with the Council of State and public opinion on the matter. It added that President Tinubu directed a comprehensive review of the initially approved list of beneficiaries in line with his discretionary powers under Section 175(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The review, the statement said, led to the removal of certain individuals convicted of serious offences such as kidnapping, drug-related crimes, human trafficking, fraud, and unlawful possession or dealing in firearms.
“Those earlier included in the list who were convicted of serious crimes have been deleted,” the statement read.
It further noted that for some others who had been pardoned in the earlier list, their sentences were commuted rather than fully pardoned.
Details later…
