A Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has called for the scrapping of key federal agencies including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Eze said the agencies have lost their credibility due to political interference, especially following President Bola Tinubu’s recent presidential pardon of several convicted individuals, including drug traffickers and corrupt officials.
In a statement made available to the media, Eze said President Tinubu’s decision had further eroded public confidence in Nigeria’s anti-corruption and law enforcement institutions.
He said, “Institutions like the NDLEA, EFCC, and ICPC have become irrelevant and worthless. All the efforts and public resources used to convict some of these hardened criminals have gone down the drain simply because the President wanted to show prerogative to some of these criminals.”
Eze also expressed concern that some of the released convicts might return to their criminal activities, warning that the decision has endangered the lives of law enforcement officers and judges who worked to secure their convictions.
“The release of these criminals who may go back to revive their criminal acts is uncalled for. Both the police and judges that sentenced and convicted them are now endangered species,” he said.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Information, Bayo Onanuga, 175 persons benefited from the presidential pardon, including 41 illegal miners, 28 drug traffickers, and 22 convicted murderers. Others on the list include historical figures such as Herbert Macaulay, former lawmaker Farouk Lawan, late Major General Mamman Vatsa, and Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death for killing her husband in 2017.
Reacting further, Eze, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said the President’s decision has brought “shame and reproach” to the party and made it “unelectable” in future elections.
“As long as I remain a member of the APC, it must be said categorically that President Tinubu, by his action, has brought shame and reproach to the party. No reasonable Nigerian will vote for the APC again after this blunder,” he said.
Eze joined other prominent Nigerians, including the Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in condemning the pardon. The monarch had earlier stated, “If the President can pardon drug convicts, then there’s no need for NDLEA. No need to arrest thieves or punish anyone again.”
Eze further advised the President to apologise to Nigerians and review the list of pardoned individuals, as suggested by human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN).
He also said that instead of granting pardon to the Ogoni Nine, the government should exonerate them completely, adding that “only full exoneration, not mercy, would do justice to their legacy.”
