Former lawmaker Zakar Mohammed says Tinubu’s pardon reversal breaches constitutional limits and exposes deep institutional and political failings.

Former member of the House of Representatives and political analyst, Zakar Mohammed, has described the recent reversal of President Bola Tinubu’s pardon list as a “national embarrassment,” faulting the process as politically compromised and poorly handled by those around the President.

Speaking in an interview on ARISE News on Thursday, Mohammed said the incident reflects serious lapses within the Presidency’s inner workings and exposes a lack of due diligence in the review and approval of the list.

“It’s embarrassing. It’s a national embarrassment, because in history, even with the military heads of state, I don’t think this has happened,” he said. “Mr. President has been sincere with himself, going back to his closet to examine the men who have been given responsibilities. It’s not enough giving responsibilities to people who cannot read memos of just 20 pages. I’m sure that’s where the problem is, and that process has been politicized.”

Mohammed argued that the initial compilation of the pardon list should have passed through several levels of vetting before reaching the President.

“Before this list gets to Mr. President, there should be another layer that sieves it. Nigeria is blessed with very intelligent people who can look at it. After that, the Attorney General comes in. I respect the Attorney General — he has paid his dues — but it should be professionally embarrassing for him that this happened,” he said.

The former lawmaker cited Section 175 (1–2) of the 1999 Constitution, noting that while it empowers the President to grant pardons, it does not permit the reversal of such actions once completed.

“Section 175 gives the President the power of clemency, not the power to revisit. If you look at Atiku Abubakar v. Federal Government (2007), the court held that whatever is said under that law is final and irrevocable — unless it was procured by deceit or force,” he explained.

He added that global precedents support this interpretation, pointing to the United Kingdom and United States, where prerogatives of mercy are irreversible once granted.

“Even in the UK, in R v Foster (1740s), it was held that when the King speaks, it doesn’t reverse. The same applies in the US and Canada, where our own constitutional provision was drawn from,” he said.

Mohammed also referenced the 2013 pardon granted by former President Goodluck Jonathan to Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and others, which sparked controversy but was not reversed because of legal constraints.

“Jonathan gave pardon to Al-Mustapha and Alamieyeseigha. There was a huge outcry, but he couldn’t revisit it because he knew the law did not permit that,” he noted.

He criticized the handling of the current pardon process as politically motivated and symptomatic of weak institutional checks within the administration.

“I can tell you from where I’m sitting that the list has been politicised. That’s why this could happen. The Attorney General wouldn’t openly tell Nigerians what is going on, but you could see he was being very careful with his words. The list should have gone through proper ‘baking’ before release,” he said.

Mohammed further faulted the government’s decision-making priorities, questioning why public pressure could trigger a reversal on the pardon list while the administration ignored broader economic grievances such as the fuel subsidy removal.

“If the President listens, why didn’t he revisit the matter of subsidy? Everyone knows subsidy must go, but it should have been done in phases — you don’t perform three operations on a patient at once,” he argued.

Concluding, Mohammed said the reversal was not only legally questionable but also a blow to the integrity of governance in Nigeria.

“It took public outcry for the revisit to happen, but even that revisit is not within the law. Once a pardon is announced, the process is completed. It’s irreversible unless obtained by deceit. The Council of State should have been fully involved,” he said. (AriseNews TV)