FG has inaugurated a 15-member committee on the prerogative of mercy.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Federal Government has inaugurated a 15-member Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy to promote justice, rehabilitation, and human rights.
Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF, Segun Imohiosen, disclosed this in a statement issued today in Abuja.
He said the development is in line with the spirit of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
The SGF, Senator George Akume who inaugurated the committee noted that; “Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) confers special powers of prerogative of mercy on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This power enables the President to grant pardon to any person convicted of an offence created by an Act of the National Assembly.”
He explained that the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy is an administrative body with the mandate to provide and facilitate a seamless and smooth exercise of power by the President.
Committee members
The committee has the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as Chairman.
Other members are the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs; Representatives of Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Service, National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.
Others are Justice Augustine B. Utsaha, Prof. Alkasum Abba, Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi, Prof. Nike Y. Sidikat Ijaiya, and Director, Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs who will serve as Secretary.
The committee “within its four-year tenure will play a critical role in supporting the dispensation of justice in relation to the decongestion of correctional facilities, particularly in ensuring that eligible and deserving prisoners and ex-convicts are recommended for the consideration of the President.
“In his response, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, who serves as the Chairman assured Mr. President that the committee will deliver adequately in assisting him to discharge his constitutional responsibility of granting pardon and clemency to convicts or ex-convicts in deserving cases and reintegrating them into the society,” the statement added.
