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By Ebunoluwa Sessou

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, SAN, has disclosed that over 320 requests would be scrutinized and sent to the presidency for clemency or pardon in order to decongest the various correctional centre across the country.

He made this known during a meeting where the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, PACPM was reconvened.

Malami, who is the Chairman of PACPM declared that the commencement of PACPM was to decongest the various correctional centres nationwide and across the six geo-political zones of the federation.

According to him, “The need arise, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the danger posed by congestion in various custodial centre”.

It would be recalled that the committee constituted to make President Muhammadu Buhari, discharge  his constitutional role of granting clemency and pardon according to section 175 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended in June 19 2018, after submitting its report and went on recess.

Malami noted that PACPM previous report yielded result, as the Council of State’s meeting held on Thursday 27th of August 2020 ratified and validated Presidential Clemency and pardon granted to some beneficiaries.

He reiterated the expediency for the committee to reconvene, given the fact that Office of the Attorney General and the Committee’s Secretariat had respectively received myriads of requests for the grant of Presidential Pardon and Clemency, up to 320 applications.

In his words,”I can assure you that Mr.President has much confidence on your abilities and is expectant of the outcome of your deliberations. Mr. President is committed to the ongoing Justice Sector Reforms and the mandate of this committee touches strongly on the ongoing efforts to decongest the Correctional Centres Nationwide within the scope and ambit of law”.

He urged the committee on the second phase of its assigned responsibility,  to critically and objectively consider the applications and advice as appropriate in the interest of the public and in the interest of Justice.

Other dignitaries who also played key roles in the matters of the committee were Boss Mustapha Secretary to Federal Government, Senator George Akume, Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs as well as former LITFC Boss, Lucy Ajayi.