President Buhari has extended presidential amnesty to former convicts, including late Professor Ambrose Alli, late Chief Anthony Enahoro, ex Lt. Col Moses Effiong, Major E. J Olanrewaju, and Mister Ajay I. Olusola Babalola.
The announcement was made by Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who confirmed that the President also granted clemency to 2,600 inmates nationwide, with 70 inmates from Kuje Correctional Centre being beneficiaries.
Professor Ali was the governor of the old Bendel State in the Second Republic (1978-1983) and a prominent progressive, while Chief Enahoro was a leading nationalist who moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence.
Aregbesola stated that the Presidential pardon was based on recommendations to the President by a Presidential Committee and the necessity of significantly reducing the number of inmates in custodian centres across the country due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, also described the 2020 presidential pardon as historic and revealed that the process of selecting beneficiaries began in 2018.
Members of the public were urged to accept the beneficiaries without stigmatization.