Akinnola Defends Tinubu, Blames Advisory Committee For Controversial State Pardon

Veteran journalist and human rights activist, Richard Akinnola, has exonerated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from direct blame over the controversial state pardon granted to some convicts, including individuals jailed for capital and drug-related offences.

Akinnola, a former editor at Vanguard newspaper and member of the 2006–2007 Lagos State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, said the responsibility for the contentious recommendations rests squarely with the presidential committee that advised the President through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

In a Facebook post on Monday, Akinnola recounted his personal experience serving on a similar committee under then-Governor Bola Tinubu in Lagos State. The council, he noted, was chaired by respected legal scholar Funke Aboyade (SAN).

“Between January 2006 and April 2007, I was privileged to be a member of the Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy to the Lagos State Governor, under the chairmanship of Funke Aboyade,” he wrote.

He explained that the committee’s task was to carefully vet applications for clemency, including prison visits and inmate interviews, before making any recommendations to the governor through the state’s Attorney-General.

“We carefully scrutinized applications for the prerogative of mercy and even visited the prison to interview some of the inmates. Our recommendations to the Governor, either to commute death sentences to years of imprisonment or for the release of certain categories of inmates, came after very careful and meticulous considerations,” he said.

Akinnola clarified that governors and presidents typically act on the confidence they have in their advisory committees, merely endorsing the final recommendations without delving into each case’s specifics.

“Normally, a Governor or President merely signs what had been recommended by the committee because of the confidence he has in the committee. Therefore, if there had been errors or inappropriate recommendations for the release of certain inmates, the blame should go to the committee and not the Governor or President, even though the buck stops at their tables,” he explained.

Commenting on the ongoing uproar over President Tinubu’s recent approval of clemency for 175 inmates, Akinnola condemned the work of the presidential advisory body, describing it as “embarrassing and shoddy.”

“With due respect to the members, it was a very embarrassing and shoddy exercise by the committee, by recommending the release of some people convicted for serious offences, barely a few years into their conviction. They just embarrassed the President, who would not be in a position to know the details of most of the convicts,” he lamented.

The journalist’s remarks come amid growing public outrage over reports that some of the pardoned inmates had been convicted for violent and drug-related crimes.

By shedding light on the inner workings of clemency committees, Akinnola’s intervention provides a fresh perspective on the debate, emphasizing the institutional accountability behind presidential pardons rather than laying sole blame on the nation’s leader.