President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has been asked to withdraw the posthumous presidential pardon he gave to late Professor Ambrose Alli, first civilian Governor of Bendel State as he lacks moral authority to issue pardons to victims of his then repressive military government.
Nigeria’s rights group, the Civil Empowerment & Rule of Law Support Initiative, CERLSI made the demand in Benin City, Edo State during the weekend, as part of opposing voices trailing the unpopular pardon recently granted by the President.
CERLSI also faulted Buhari in the implementation of his anti-corruption agenda and challenged him to publicly declare his assets in proper fashion, as an anti-corruption president.
“As president, Mr. Buhari has made the fight against corruption his prime agenda. In spite of this however, he has not shown leadership by declaring his assets and making them public in the fashion of the innocent man he jailed,” CERLSI Deputy Executive Director, Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku said in the statement circulated to the media, following the presidential pardon.
Buhari, a former military Dictator who aborted Nigeria’s second attempt at democratic governance on December 31, 1983 was also asked to apologize to Alli’s family for the spurious charges of corruption which his junta levelled against the esteemed Prof, and which led to his very untimely death in September 1989.
Alli was arrested and sentenced to 100 years in prison by a military tribunal for allegedly misappropriating N983, 000 meant for a road project.
He was later freed when the Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion paid a fine to the government.
Etemiku said it was President Buhari who should ask for pardon for sending an innocent man, who greatly improved on the well-being of Bendelites to jail and sending him to a most painful death on his birthday.
Professor Ambrose Folorunsho Alli as governor of then Bendel State under the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) improved greatly on the fortunes of the old Bendel State.
His signature achievements were in the educational sector where he abolished school fees, fed students and made books available for free at all levels and paid compulsory bursaries to students and civil servants of Bendel state origin in all tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
He was among those who called for true federalism, and for the regions to control their resources. A university he set up is named after him in Ekpoma Edo State.
Prior to being governor, the late Prof Ambrose Alli was a member of the defunct Constituent Assembly that drafted the 1979 constitution. He lectured at the Ahmadu Bello University, the University of Ibadan and at the University of Benin.
“We are bewildered that a man who overthrew a democratically elected government and jailed an innocent man is now, as a civilian president pardoning a man who had only N500 in both his personal and official accounts before and after his tenures as governor.
“At CERLSI, we are convinced that the presidential pardon on some Nigerians, especially that which was conferred posthumously on Prof Ambrose Folorunsho Alli, may be a gesture of remorse by Mr. Buhari.
“If this is so, we believe that he must do so properly instead of through the back door of a posthumous presidential pardon,” the CERLSI statement read.
“A mere posthumous presidential pardon will not atone for the injustice meted several years ago to a man largely above the ranks of most governors today. What the President must do is first make a public apology to the Prof Alli family.
“The late Alli had just N500 in his account before and after his tenure. Let president Buhari right the wrong he did this man by following in his footsteps, declare his assets and make it public,” Mr. Etemiku said.
The purpose of CERLSI is to educate Nigerian citizens on the import of the vote, their rights and privileges under the laws of Nigeria. Our focal areas include citizen engagement and capacity building, Rule of Law, Community advocacy, Media, Human Rights.
