A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has called on the federal government to scrap key anti-crime agencies, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging that they have been compromised by political interference.
Eze, who was formerly affiliated with the All Progressives Congress (APC), made the call while reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to grant presidential pardon to 175 convicts, including drug offenders, illegal miners, and white-collar criminals.
According to Eze, the President’s action has “eroded public confidence” in institutions mandated to uphold integrity and justice, describing the pardon as “unwise, inexcusable, and a grave national embarrassment.”
“The NDLEA, EFCC, and ICPC have become irrelevant and worthless,” Eze said in a statement made available to the media. “All the efforts and public resources spent to prosecute and convict these hardened criminals have gone down the drain because the President decided to extend mercy to them.”
He argued that the release of convicted criminals not only undermines law enforcement but also endangers police officers and judges who secured their convictions.
Eze further criticized Tinubu’s decision as a stain on the APC, declaring that “by his action, the President has brought shame and reproach to the party” and that “no reasonable Nigerian would vote for the APC again.”
The presidential pardon list, announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Information, Bayo Onanuga, included 41 illegal miners, 28 drug traffickers, and 22 murderers, among others. Notable names on the list were nationalist Herbert Macaulay, former lawmaker Farouk Lawan, late Major General Mamman Vatsa, and Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death for killing her husband in 2017.
Eze echoed the concerns of prominent Nigerians such as the Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, who said, “If the President can pardon drug convicts, then there’s no need for NDLEA. No need to arrest thieves or punish anyone again,” and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who also condemned the move.
On the issue of the Ogoni Nine, Eze said what they deserve is not a pardon but a full exoneration to preserve their legacy.
He urged President Tinubu to “formally apologize to Nigerians for this blunder” and to “retrieve and review the list of pardonees as advised by human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, to avoid sending the wrong signal.”