Adeyanju Carpets Governors For Granting Pardon To Terrorists, Says They Lack Constitutional Power

Popular Nigerian activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has condemned the act of some governors granting pardons to criminals.

Speaking via a statement on Thursday, the Abuja lawyer argued that governors do not have the constitutional power to grant pardon to terrorists as part of non-kinetic strategies to address the country’s worsening security challenges.

Abia Radio News reports that Adeyanju’s statement comes amidst the rising insecurity across several states, especially in the North-West, North-East and North-Central zones, where banditry, mass kidnappings and terrorist attacks have persisted despite sustained military operations.

Reacting, some state governments adopted dialogue, negotiation and amnesty programmes, offering pardons, financial incentives and rehabilitation packages to armed groups in exchange for laying down their weapons.

States such as Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger have allegedly explored or implemented some forms of amnesty or negotiated settlements with bandit groups, often justifying the approach as a pragmatic response to overstretched security forces and the humanitarian toll of prolonged violence.

However, Adeyanju has warned that beyond the policy debate, the actions of state governors in granting amnesty to terrorists lack constitutional backing.

“Under Section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, a governor’s power of pardon is limited strictly to offences created by laws of the state. Terrorism, however, is a federal offence governed by the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act and falls squarely within matters of national security on the exclusive legislative list,” he said.