•Says Ken Saro-Wiwa family legally entitled to compensation for wrongful execution

Amidst the uproar following the presidential pardon of over 100 convicts of multifarious crimes including fraud, murder, bribery, corruption and kidnapping, award-winning international human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe has clarified why Adamawa farmer Sunday Jackson was conspicuously absent on the list.

The general public and political figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, have condemned President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to grant presidential pardons to dozens of convicted criminals, including drug traffickers, describing the move as a grave setback to Nigeria’s anti-drug campaign and a dangerous affront to justice and morality.

The Washington-based lawyer said in a statement on Monday that he had been reached by several people lamenting why Sunday Jackson, a student farmer on deathrow for 10 years for successfully defending himself from a Fulani herdsman’s attack while he was farming in Adamawa state, was not on the list.

Ogebe said: “I want to appreciate everyone who has expressed disappointment that Jackson was not on the just released presidential pardon list especially given that it was politically connected persons and not the common man who seemed primarily to benefit from this.

“However the fact of the matter is constitutionally the President has no power to pardon Sunday Jackson for a state crime as he was convicted under Adamawa state law.

“For comparative illustration, Donald Trump pardoned over a 1,000 convicts who participated in his January 6 2021 insurrection. However he has been unable to pardon himself because his own 34 criminal convictions were by New York State. Only New York State can pardon him. That’s why he is still a convict while he has pardoned many ex-convicts.

“In the Sunday Jackson case, President Tinubu can therefore not be blamed because the ball is not in his court.

“In fact, I can say that after consultation with his community stakeholders, I met the Attorney General of the Federation about the Sunday Jackson case. The Hon AGF told me that they had a similar case where the parent of the murdered spouse said the FGN should pardon the killer spouse so his grandparents won’t be orphans.

“Based on this interaction, I believe that President Tinubu would have pardoned Sunday Jackson had his conviction been on a federal offense because like in the aforementioned case, the father of Jackson’s attacker has already written to Governor Fintiri of Adamawa asking for a pardon for Jackson.

“That said, a constitutional question has been raised by Nigerian Canadian activist Josephine Akioyamen:

“Among those granted clemency was Farouk M. Lawan, the former lawmaker convicted in 2021 for soliciting and accepting bribes while serving as Chairman of the House Committee on Fuel Subsidy. His conviction was once celebrated as a rare victory for accountability in high office. Tinubu’s decision to pardon him erases that victory and sends the message that corruption remains untouchable in Nigeria.

“The president also extended clemency to violent offenders. Kelvin Prosper Oniarah, a notorious kidnapper linked to multiple murders in the Niger Delta, and Maryam Sanda, convicted of murdering her husband, were among the beneficiaries. These decisions cannot be justified under any moral or legal principle. They trivialize the pain of victims and make a mockery of justice.

“A Constitutional Question

“Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers the president to grant pardons, but that authority is limited to federal offences, that is, crimes prosecuted under federal law and decided by federal courts. Offences tried under state criminal laws are beyond presidential reach. Only state governors, acting on the advice of their respective state advisory councils, can grant clemency in such cases.

“The official list of 175 pardoned convicts released by the presidency does not specify which courts handled their cases or whether their convictions were under federal or state law. Crimes like homicide, fraud, and robbery are often prosecuted in state courts under state penal codes. If even a portion of those pardoned were convicted by state courts, the president’s action exceeds his constitutional powers. In that case, those pardons would not only be morally wrong but legally void.” (Tinubu’s Pardons Mock Justice, Breach the Law, and Reward Criminality by Akioyamen Josephine).

“The FGN should disclose the jurisdiction of the charges convicted on to ensure there was no state offense unconstitutionally pardoned. If there is one single state convict pardoned, the Sunday Jackson should be the topmost beneficiary as well.

“Regarding the general reaction to the mass pardons, I only wish to state that the president should be sensitive to the message he is sending. Buhari freed many of the rioters who killed over 1000 people in the 2011 post-election violence and this indicated that he was indeed complicit with them just like Trump’s J6 pardons.

“While both did it for their loyalist election thugs, some believe Tinubu has done this to attract votes for 2027 reelection. Whatever the case, it does not look good when the ruling class members who rarely are held accountable are then summarily released without paying their debt to society.

“I will note however that the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa was an unconscionable travesty. In our legal system, a capital offense convict has an automatic right of appeal. Wiwa was sentenced and executed the same day without exercising his constitutional rights of appeal which I stated in a press statement at the time of his execution.

“That execution was manifestly illegal as already established by our courts in the celebrated Supreme Court decision of Nasiru Bello v. A. G Oyo State (1986) 5 NWLR (Pt. 45) 828 almost 10 years earlier. In that matter, Oyo State’s flawed action in executing a convict despite a pending appeal led to landmark pronouncements on due process and compensatory damages to the family.

“Therefore beyond pardon, Wiwa et al are eligible for compensation to their families from the FGN. This is where we should be looking at this point.

“With regard to Sunday Jackson, I would urge President Tinubu to write to Gov Fintiri to respectfully request a pardon for him. Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court panel Helen Ogunwumiju JSC already pleaded with Gov Fintiri to pardon him in her dissenting judgment; Prof Ojukwu SAN of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission has also supported a pardon for Jackson. There is no single Nigerian in prison today who has received as much public outcry and support for clemency.

“ ‘Mr Sunday Jackson is sentenced to death for defending himself, yet Maryam Sanda, who stabbed her husband multiple times, gets clemency. What a country!’ an X user reportedly noted.

“While we continue to wait for the Adamawa state government which recently pardoned six convicts, we’re are now exploring more legal options frenetically.

“We are looking for Jackson’s forked legal aid counsel Francis Ogbe, ESQ. Anyone with his contact should reach us with his details ASAP.

“We discovered a major constitutional ground of appeal with regard to his expired judgment which was not included which could have saved Jackson. We hope if we find and can prove this, the court might be able to revisit and redress this travesty.

“Anyone who knows Francis Ogbe Esq should kindly contact us as a matter of life and death.”