FG inaugurates presidential advisory committee on prerogative of mercy

Mustapha Boss

THE Federal Government has inaugurated the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy as part of efforts to decongest Nigerian prisons.

 

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, inaugurated the 12-member committee, which has the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami as the chairman.

He said the Committee which has four-year tenure is constituted to assist President Muhammadu Buhari in the discharge of his constitutional responsibility of not only granting pardon to deserving prisoners and ex-convicts and reintegrating them into the society but also to work towards decongesting the prisons nationwide.

Over 45,000 inmates are locked up in Nigeria prisons with over 75 of them awaiting trial.

Mustapha who was represented by the AGF, Abubakar Malami, said the reconstitution of the committee by President Buhari on 19th June 2018 and subsequent inauguration, would go a long way in bringing about a drastic reduction in the population of prisoners in the nation’s Prison System “that has become a blot on the nation’s Criminal Justice System.

He noted that the responsibility of the committee was sensitive and enormous, urging them to brace up with the challenges embedded in the assignment.

He stressed that the purpose of the constitution of the committee and its guiding principles must be completely adhered to so as not to elude the process.

He said the committee has the responsibility of recommending to the President eligible persons for pardon in accordance with the powers vested on him by the Nigerian constitution.

The Committee has representatives from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Civil Society, Nigerian Police, Nigerian Prisons Service, SGF office among others.