Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday criticised President Bola Tinubu, saying Nigerians are witnessing a “government that thinks after it acts.”
Atiku described the Tinubu administration’s reversal of the presidential pardon list, which included drug traffickers, kidnappers, and other hardened criminals, as an act of shame rather than wisdom.
The Presidency had earlier released a new list of inmates whose previously granted presidential clemency was revoked by Tinubu.
The list, released on Wednesday by Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, stated that 140 inmates were affected.
In the list, Tinubu commuted the death sentence of Maryam Sanda—who was convicted for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, in 2020—to 12 years imprisonment.
However, in an exclusive interview with the media, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, said, “Once again, Nigerians have witnessed a government that doesn’t lead—it reacts. President Bola Tinubu has ‘cancelled’ his own pardon for drug traffickers, kidnappers, and other hardened criminals, but only after Nigerians shouted loud enough to wake him from his moral slumber.
“Let’s be clear: this U-turn is not an act of wisdom; it’s an act of shame.
“If the public had kept quiet, would convicted drug lords and kidnappers be walking free today under the President’s blessing? Who thought it was a brilliant idea to reward crime and betray justice? Who signed off on such a national embarrassment?
“These are the questions every Nigerian deserves answers to:
Who compiled the list of beneficiaries?
“What criteria justified freeing kidnappers and drug offenders?
Where was the Attorney-General when this absurdity was cooked up?
“And why does this government only ‘discover its conscience’ after Nigerians express outrage?
“This pattern has become too familiar — announce the unthinkable, watch the country erupt, then hurriedly reverse course as if governance is a game of ‘trial and error.’
“A presidential pardon is not a social experiment. It is a sacred constitutional power meant to reflect justice, mercy, and national interest — not to reward impunity or test public patience.
“How can a government that pardons criminals lecture citizens about morality, order, or discipline? How can a Commander-in-Chief who nearly freed kidnappers claim to be fighting insecurity?”
He stated that the entire episode exposes one bitter truth — that Nigeria is being governed without foresight, empathy, or shame.
“If the President truly means well, let him publish the list of all those who were meant to benefit from this scandal. Let Nigerians see the names, the crimes, and the hands that signed off on this reckless indulgence.
“Until then, this cancellation is nothing but damage control — too little, too late,” he added.
