The former Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has said that the recent presidential pardon granted to some convicts by President Bola Tinubu is acceptable if the beneficiaries have demonstrated genuine reformation and can make positive contributions to society.

However, Sagay cautioned that the decision would be “wrong and unacceptable” if it was politically motivated or aimed at pleasing certain individuals.

President Tinubu had recently granted clemency to about 175 individuals, including inmates and ex-offenders, a move that has drawn mixed reactions across the country.

In a telephone interview with Saturday Telegraph, the senior advocate advised Nigerians against making hasty judgments on such matters without having full details of the circumstances surrounding each case.

He said: “If they have not improved in any way, and if this is a political thing to please somebody, obviously it is wrong and unacceptable. But if they have actually changed, and they are in a position that they can contribute to society, then there is nothing wrong with it.”

The legal scholar emphasized the need for proper research and background checks before drawing conclusions on national issues.

“Well, the problem that I find in this country is that we jump to conclusions without doing any background work or research. Because, on the surface, it may not look very good. But we don’t know the details of the convictions of those prisoners,” he explained.

Sagay further questioned whether the pardoned individuals had shown genuine reform or remained negative influences, stressing that such details were crucial to evaluating the propriety of the presidential action.

“Can they contribute to the development of society now, or are they still negative factors? Those are facts we don’t know. I don’t want to conclude that it was wrong without having those facts,” he stated.

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