Tampering justice with mercy.

President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurates a committee expected to introduce more correctional systems in the judiciary

President Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday, inaugurated a new committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, urging them to work towards having a correctional judicial system.

The committee is headed by the Attorney General of the Federation, Bello Adoke (SAN).

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, the president said the cycle of justice should include forgiveness and relief for those that are repentant.

“I congratulate the distinguished ladies and gentlemen who have been appointed into this committee and charge you all to quickly settle down to work to clear the backlog of cases in the interest of justice and our avowed determination to be fair to all within the ambit of the law,” he said.

“Although our justice administration process is adversarial, and does not provide for parole, or suspended sentences as in some other jurisdictions, I strongly believe that the cycle of justice should include forgiveness and relief for those that are manifestly repentant. The pervasive assumption is that the Nigerian penal system is punitive, and that every encounter with the law may be a permanent exit from decent society.  My view is that we need to place emphasis on our penal system being more correctional.”

The president said the country needs to create opportunities for convicted persons, either after completing their terms or before they do so, considering the circumstances, to be reintegrated back into society, and rehabilitated.

He added that Nigeria can achieve more by making the justice system a bit more redemptive. “In doing this, we will also need to pay particular attention to human rights, especially where there is ample evidence of abuse,” he said.

The Prerogative of Mercy, which is enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution, allows the president and state governors to grant to a convicted person a state pardon. This pardon can be either conditional or otherwise, or it could be in the form of respite from the execution of punishment imposed, or the substitution of a less severe sanction.

Jonathan also urged the committee to assume an added significance now that the nation is in transformation and “as we tackle new security challenges in accordance with due process and the rule of law”. “Your work must go beyond the routine decongestion of prisons and redressing the miscarriage of justice,” he said.

“I need you to be at the frontline of cultural transformation and value reorientation. I need to point out however, for the avoidance of doubt, that our emphasis on mercy is merely as a prerogative; this will not in any way detract from our bounden duty to protect the lives and property of all citizens, and to safeguard the Nigerian state against any form of violation.”

He said he expected the committee, while making its recommendations, to assess every case strictly on its own merit. “We will not exercise the Prerogative of Mercy on a quota basis, or in deference to the considerations of religion, geography, ethnicity or politics,” he said.