CSOs Demand Withdrawal Of Pardon To Two Ex-Govs

A coalition of northern civil society organisations, under the auspices of Conference of Northern States Civil Society Networks (CNSCSN) has demanded the withdrawal of presidential pardon granted to two former governors for stealing public funds in 2018.
The Conference of Northern States Civil Society Networks is a forum of states based civil society networks operating in the 19 northern states of Nigeria.
The coalition, in a statement, yesterday by its Chairman and Secretary, Ibrahim Wayya and Ibrahim Yusuf said the establishment of the platform was conceived in 2017, and inaugurated on March 28, 2021 as a regional network of non-governmental, non-partisan, not for profit, non-ethnic and non-religious platform, with the sole objective of advocating for the best practices of democracy, accountable governance and increased development of northern Nigeria and beyond.
The forum expressed dismay over the presidential pardon to the former governors, describing it as importunate and shocking.
“It has come to our notice that, President Muhammadu Buhari has through the Council of States pardoned two former state governors who were jailed for stealing public funds in 2018 and were yet to serve half the length of their jail terms in prison. This is rather unfortunate, shocking and at best, paradoxical coming from a man who rode to the corridor of power under the guise of anti- corruption. Corruption over the years in Nigeria had gradually succeeded in causing a loss of trust and a breakdown of social capital in governance.
“We all know that corruption is a threat to development, democracy and stability. It distorts markets, curbs economic growth and discourages foreign investments. It also erodes public services and trust in government officials.
“In recent time, the anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria, most especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-ignited the hopes of Nigerians through its diligent prosecution of high profile corruption cases, where the current chairman had to stand in the witness box for several hours to ensure that, corrupt individuals are brought to book”.