A designated committee handles legal matters pertaining to presidential pardons, according to Abubakar Malami, SAN, the immediate past Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. The Attorney General’s role is restricted to presenting the committee’s report.
Responding to accusations in the recently published book Nigeria: Past and Future by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Malami clarified this in an exclusive interview on Friday.
One of two books recently published in honour of Obasanjo’s 88th birthday, it claimed that corruption peaked during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari and that Malami was instrumental in encouraging corrupt activities.
Obasanjo described Malami as a “devil’s workshop” and asserted that “the most atrocious waste, enthronement of corruption, and discouragement of officials fighting corruption” took place during Buhari’s administration.
Two former governors, Jolly Nyame of Taraba State and Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, who had been found guilty of fraud, received presidential pardons during Buhari’s rule.
Nyame was serving a 12-year sentence for misappropriating ₦1.64 billion, while Dariye had been serving a 10-year sentence for embezzling ₦1.126 billion in state funds.
In April 2022, under Buhari’s administration, the Council of State pardoned them because to their old age and deteriorating health.
Four months after the pardons, in August 2022, both were freed from Kuje Correctional Facility in the Federal Capital Territory.
However, Obasanjo said that corruption had corroded the process and that Malami had aggressively pushed Buhari to give the pardons.
The former president said that it was later found that neither Nyame nor Dariye had the life-threatening conditions that were first reported.
“It was all part of Malami’s financial shenanigans, and he played many such schemes to his advantage. His principal concurred, condoned, turned a blind eye and a deaf ear, and paid lip service to fighting corruption while cohabiting comfortably with corruption in multifarious ways,” Obasanjo alleged.
In response, Malami strongly refuted the claims, insisting that the process of granting pardons is strictly regulated by law.
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“Generally speaking, the issue of pardon is a legal matter governed by law and existing legislation, in which a committee on the prerogative of mercy— not the Attorney General — is responsible,” he stated.
He further explained that his role as Attorney General was limited to presenting the committee’s report to the Council of State.
“The responsibility for actions and inactions associated with the committee’s recommendations lies with the committee, not the Attorney General,” Malami said.
Malami also criticised the growing trend of unsubstantiated corruption allegations against public officials, both locally and internationally. He called for detailed and evidence-based claims to ensure credibility.
“Our system and polity are characterised by wild and unsubstantiated allegations of corruption relating to official acts of governance, both locally and internationally. We have witnessed unguarded allegations even against our well-respected presidents during international media engagements. The Hard Talk interview of President Obasanjo is a relevant case in point,” he noted.
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The former Minister of Justice stressed that for any corruption or bribery allegation to hold weight, sufficient details must be provided.
“It is only reasonable to provide adequate particulars where allegations of corruption are made. Who gives what? How much was given? Who facilitated the bribery? Through what medium was the bribe given? On what date and time? These details are always necessary to establish reasonable suspicion,” Malami said.
He concluded that allegations lacking such specifics remain baseless, mischievous, and devoid of actionable grounds for legal pursuit.
