Atiku, ADC Blast Tinubu over Pardon for Convicted Drug Traffickers: "National Disgrace"
- Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says Tinubu’s pardon for convicted drug traffickers emboldens criminality and weakens the rule of law
- The African Democratic Congress also condemns the mass clemency as a betrayal of NDLEA officers and a setback to Nigeria’s global reputation
- Both opposition figures warn that the move undermines public trust in leadership and paints Nigeria as soft on drug crime
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent decision to grant presidential pardon to many convicted criminals, including notorious drug traffickers. They described the move as a grave moral failure that encourages lawlessness and weakens the justice system.
Atiku, in a statement shared across his verified social media pages, said the development has provoked outrage nationwide.
Source: Facebook
He described the pardon as reckless and damaging to the integrity of the Nigerian justice system.
Atiku condemns Tinubu’s drug offender clemency
According to him, the presidential prerogative of mercy should be a sacred tool to temper justice with compassion and to uphold the moral authority of the state, not an avenue to reward crime or compromise national values.
He said:
“Regrettably, the latest pardon issued by the Tinubu administration has done the very opposite. The decision to extend clemency to individuals convicted of grave crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, 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.”
Atiku, who was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, warned that the pardon came at a time when Nigeria is battling insecurity, moral decline, and a surge in drug-related crimes.
He said 29.2 per cent of those pardoned were convicted for drug offences, a move he described as “indefensible and shocking” given the country’s ongoing struggle with narcotics abuse.
He added:
“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.”
The former Vice President accused the Tinubu administration of consistently showing tolerance for individuals linked to criminal enterprises. He said such conduct undermines the credibility of the justice system and demoralizes law enforcement officers who risk their lives to fight crime.
Atiku maintained that “a presidential pardon is meant to symbolize restitution and moral reform,” not to trivialize crime or mock victims. He warned that granting clemency to convicted criminals erodes public confidence in leadership and emboldens further wrongdoing.
ADC warns of eroding justice system
Echoing similar sentiments, the African Democratic Congress described the presidential pardon as “a national disgrace.”
Source: Facebook
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the move amounts to “an irresponsible abuse of presidential power” and undermines years of effort by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other security agencies.
The ADC said:
“It is pathetic and a national disgrace that this administration has chosen to grant express pardon to dozens of convicts held for drug trafficking, smuggling, and related offences, especially when most of these convicts have barely served two years in jail for crimes that carry life sentences.”
The party argued that Nigeria, already battling a drug crisis that affects about 14.4 per cent of its population, three times the global average, cannot afford to compromise its anti-drug policies.
It warned that the pardon damages Nigeria’s global reputation and creates the impression that the country has sympathy for drug traffickers.
The ADC added that the decision weakens the fight against narcotics and betrays the sacrifice of NDLEA officers who have risked their lives to combat the menace. According to the party:
“With this mass clemency for drug dealers, President Tinubu and the APC are redefining the standard of morality in our country and transforming Nigeria into a nation where crime attracts neither fear nor consequence.”
Tinubu rejects two bills passed by Senate
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu gave reasons for refusing to sign two bills forwarded to him by the Senate into law.
According to the president, the first bill was the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (Establishment) Bill, 2025.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who read Tinubu's letter, also noted that the president did not assent to the National Assembly Library Fund bill with a reason.
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Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
