The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is urging President Bola Tinubu to grant a presidential pardon to suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, citing national security concerns due to Nigeria’s rising insecurity. The commission emphasizes that this request isn’t meant to interfere with the ongoing judicial proceedings against Kyari, but rather to consider the country’s “strategic national interests”.The IHRC suggests a conditional clemency, referencing Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution, which grants the President the power to issue pardons. They point to international examples where convicted individuals with valuable expertise have been reintegrated into national service through conditional frameworks, like the US recruiting former hackers for cybersecurity defenses or post-conflict African states granting amnesties to ex-warlords for peacebuildingKyari, once hailed as Nigeria’s top anti-crime officer, is currently on trial for a cocaine trafficking case. The IHRC believes his “proven tactical and intelligence capabilities” could make him a “rehabilitated asset” in Nigeria’s fight against crime. They urge stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue to balance justice with national resilience, calling this goal a “strategic statecraft, not political favoritism”.
The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is urging President Bola Tinubu to grant a presidential pardon to suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, citing national security concerns due to Nigeria’s rising insecurity.
The commission emphasizes that this request isn’t meant to interfere with the ongoing judicial proceedings against Kyari, but rather to consider the country’s “strategic national interests”.
The IHRC suggests a conditional clemency, referencing Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution, which grants the President the power to issue pardons. They point to international examples where convicted individuals with valuable expertise have been reintegrated into national service through conditional frameworks, like the US recruiting former hackers for cybersecurity defenses or post-conflict African states granting amnesties to ex-warlords for peacebuilding
Kyari, once hailed as Nigeria’s top anti-crime officer, is currently on trial for a cocaine trafficking case. The IHRC believes his “proven tactical and intelligence capabilities” could make him a “rehabilitated asset” in Nigeria’s fight against crime.
They urge stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue to balance justice with national resilience, calling this goal a “strategic statecraft, not political favoritism”.
