Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has criticised the Federal Government over the recently released presidential pardon list, describing the exercise as embarrassing, unconstitutional, and poorly handled.
Featuring on Arise Television on Friday, Falana said the country was “exposed to ridicule” following the inclusion of undeserving individuals, some of whom had only recently been convicted of serious offences.
He noted that the process violated constitutional provisions guiding the exercise of the prerogative of mercy, saying it was flawed from the outset.
“It is not the first time that this exercise has been mishandled, but this time around, the country was exposed to odium, and there was no basis for it. Those who were not deserving of pardon were recommended for pardon,” Falana said.
The senior lawyer cited a case of an individual prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for 11 years and convicted in April 2025, whose name still appeared on the pardon list.
Falana pointed out that several persons convicted under state laws were also included, in clear violation of Section 212 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers only state governors to grant such pardons.
“By virtue of Section 212 of the Constitution, only the governor of a state can pardon people convicted for stealing, obtaining by false pretence, murder, or culpable homicide. But all those names were there,” he explained.
He further faulted the Federal Government’s explanation that the list had been reviewed and reduced from about 175 names to 35, arguing that the issue was not merely about the number of people but about due process.
“It is not enough to say we have reviewed the list and reduced it. The government owes itself a duty to ensure that such colossal embarrassment does not occur again,” he stated.
Falana also called on the Attorney-General of the Federation to publicly apologise to Nigerians for what he described as a “national embarrassment.”
“The very least the Attorney-General can do is to apologise. It is not done that way,” he added