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Pardons for Ex-Governors Threaten Nigeria's Anti-Corruption Drive

President Muhammadu Buhari controversially pardoned two former state governors who were jailed for stealing public funds in 2018 and were yet to serve half the length of their jail terms.

The former governors - Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State - who governed their respective states between 1999 and 2007, were among the 159 convicted persons whose pardon was approved by the Council of State.

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), and Transparency International (TI) Nigeria have condemned the pardon, saying it would send wrong signal and encourage corruption in the system.

In February 2022, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, blamed the Nigerian judiciary for the problem of delays in the determination of high-profile corruption cases in court. Malami insisted that the fight against corruption could only be assessed by the number of prosecutions and convictions, saying the fact that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, could record, over 2,000 convictions within a year showed that the present administration has done well in the fight against corruption.

InFocus

Bashir Ahmad/Premium Times

President Muhammadu Buhari.

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