Politics
Ozekhome Carpets FG Over Dariye, Nyame’s Pardons
The Federal Government, Saturday, received more knocks for the pardons granted to former Governors of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye and Taraba State, Jolly Nyame, convicted for corruption.
A frontline Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has flayed the gesture, describing it as an act capable of ridiculing the country in the international community.
The Tide source learnt that Dariye shed tears of joy on learning about his pardon. Officials of the Kuje facility who broke the news of their pardon to them also noticed that they were suddenly thrown in high spirits as if the doors of the facilities would be opened just immediately.
However, our source learnt that the duo were still awaiting their release from the Kuje facility located at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as at the time of filing this report.
Officials of the facility who confided in our source said Dariye, on being told of the pardon was surprised and speechless for some moments, only for tears of joy to roll down his cheeks immediately.
“He embraced some of us in excitement and expressed appreciation to the Council of State, and President Muhammadu Buhari,” one of the officers said.
Ozekhome in a statement on Saturday, argued that both the President and the Council of State goofed and abused their undoubted constitutional powers and privileges in granting pardon to Nyame and Dariye in view of their conduct.
He wondered if Buhari possesses the legal capacity to grant pardon to people prosecuted under state laws
For Ozekhome, Buhari’s action was not only a negation of his administration’s anti-corruption stand, but a confirmation of the argument that the president was not committed to the fight against corruption.
He distinguished the pardon granted to the late governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha from the current case of Nyame and Dariye.
He said: “There is the more worrisome legal conundrum in the entire presidential pardon as it pertains to the two governors.
“This is whether the president could have legally granted pardon to former governors Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame of Plateau and Taraba states respectively, having regards to the fact that both men were convicted for offences allegedly committed between November 2000 and May 2007.
“The offences under which they were tried and convicted fall under state laws which took place after the promulgation of the1999 Constitution during which time they were governors.
“Specifically, they were tried and convicted under sections 115,119 and 309 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, LFN, 1990, obviously an existing State law within the meaning, import and true purport of sections 315(1)(b) and 318 of the 1999 Constitution.
“This Act which became effective as a state law is applicable to the FCT and the northern states. This Penal Code Act ,not being a federal legislation of the NASS, became an existing state law deemed duly enacted by the 19 Northern States by virtue of section 315(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution.
“It becomes clear therefore that only the governors of Plateau and Taraba States could have legally and rightly granted pardon to Dariye and Nyame,invoking section 212 of the Constitution; and not Mr President under section 175 of the Constitution.”
On the negative implication of granting pardon to Nyame and Dariye, Ozekhome said: “The purpose of criminal prosecution is to secure justice, not only for the accused, but also for the victims of crimes and the state; and to some extent get reparation and restitution for the victims, while deterring others from going the same route.
“Where lies the justice for the impoverished people of Plateau and Taraba states who will now watch their tormentors stroll out with red carpet treatment?
“The government budgets huge sums of money for the prosecution of such accused persons from the tax players’ sweat; and if after the rigorous period of trial and subsequent conviction, the guilty are simply let off the hook in such a brazen manner, the little remaining lean hope the citizens have in the system is further diminished.
“I dare say that in these two instances, both the President and the Council of State goofed and abused their undoubted constitutional powers and privileges.
“A constitutional issue as volatile as this could have been better managed if the minders of the president had told him the embarrassment this could cause the government in the estimation of the comity of nations. And it is doing just that.
“This brazen abuse of power will definitely ricochet and erode the confidence of our international partners in the fight against corruption.
“It will also dampen the morale of the agencies fighting corruption, such as EFCC, the Nigeria Police Force, and the ICPC, amongst others.
“This singular ill-advised act of abuse of power will also definitely embolden political thieves and unrepentant pilferers of our national commonwealth.
“It shows that once you are a friend of the President or a member of his political party, or his acolyte and supporter, you can get away with any crime. In other words, in Nigeria, corruption surely pays!
“With this action, the fight against corruption appears forlorn and a mirage. What is the essence of spending scarce resources in the name of fighting corruption if at the end of the day the convicts will be pardoned and stroll into their palatial homes in splendour in this ugly manner?.
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, says he would not help President Bola Tinubu’s administration to correct the administration’s policies affecting the citizens.
Emir Sanusi spoke on Wednesday in Lagos as the chairman of the 21st Anniversary of Fawehinmiism (Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture 2025).
The emir stated that while there were “a few points” he could offer to explain the trajectory the administration had taken and how such decisions were predictable, he chose not to do so because “they don’t behave like friends.”
He said explaining the government’s policies would help the government, but he did not intend to assist them due to the way they had treated him.
“I can give a few points that are contrary, that explain perhaps what we’re going through and how it was totally predictable, most of it, and maybe avoidable. But I am not going to do that.
“I have chosen not to speak about the economy or the reforms or to even explain anything because if I explain, it would help this government, but I don’t want to help this government,” the emir said while addressing some of the points made by speakers about the economy.
He added: “You know they’re my friends, but if they don’t behave like friends, I don’t behave like a friend. So I watch them being stooges. And they don’t even have people with credibility who can come and explain what they are doing. I am not going to help. I started out helping, but I am not going to help. I am not going to discuss it. Let them come and explain to Nigerians why the policies that are being pursued are being pursued.
“Meanwhile, I’m watching a very nice movie with popcorn in my hands. But I will say one thing: What we are going through today is, at least in part, not totally, but at least in part, a necessary consequence of decades of irresponsible economic management.
“People were told decades ago that if you continue along this path, this is where you’re going to end up, and they refused to open their eyes. Now, is everything being done today correct? No.”
Emir Sanusi, who was deposed as the 14th Emir of Kano in 2020 by then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the current national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was reinstated as the 16th Emir of Kano in 2024 by the New Nigeria People’s Party-led Kano State Government.
His emirship has faced ongoing challenges from forces believed to be backed by the federal government, including federal officials’ continued recognition of his predecessor, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero.
Last month, the police barricaded his palace, with the state government accusing the federal government of orchestrating the action to stir unrest in the peaceful state.
The Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Oriyomi Onanuga, is dead.
Also known as Ijaya, Rt Hon. Onanuga, who was the member representing Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency, is said to have died following a brief illness.
This was confirmed in a tweet on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday night.
Rt Hon Onanuga, who was born in Hammersmith, London, to Nigerian parents on December 2, 1965, was a politician and entrepreneur. She held the position of Deputy Chief Whip in the Nigerian House of Representatives since 2023.
She contested and won a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019. She also served as the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa, however, exempted two members of the cabinet from the dissolution due to the critical nature of their duties.
The two commissioners exempted include the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, SAN, and the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac.
This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Mr Adeniyan said in the statement that “All the affected cabinet members are to hand over all government properties in their care to the accounting officers of their respective ministries.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa thanked the executive council members “for their service and contributions to the development of Ondo State under his administration and wished them well in their future endeavours”.