Terrorism convicts should serve full sentences, ex-Edo AG urges

Nigeria must ensure that individuals convicted under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act serve their full sentences, with no possibility of amnesty, according to former Edo State Attorney General Dr. Samson Osagie. He emphasized that such a measure is crucial for deterring future acts of terror.

Osagie pointed out that the 2022 Act provides a legal framework for combating terrorism, yet public concern remains high regarding the potential for convicted terrorists to receive executive clemency. He called for an amendment to the Act to explicitly prevent individuals convicted of terrorism or related financing offenses from benefiting from presidential pardons or any other legal mechanisms that might shorten their jail terms.

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Given the devastating impact of terrorism-related activities across the country, public concerns about the fate of those arrested, prosecuted and convicted in connection with terrorism and terrorism financing activities have heightened. It has become pertinent to recommend that the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, be further amended to exclude persons convicted of terrorism or terrorism-related offences from benefiting from presidential clemency or any legal mechanism that may enure in their favour during the pendency of their jail term.

Furthermore, Osagie suggested amending Section 175 of the Nigerian Constitution, which pertains to the prerogative of mercy. He argued that this power should be exercised with extreme restraint in terrorism cases, asserting that excluding convicted terrorists from such clemency would "tighten the noose around perpetrators of terrorism against the nation and its citizens."

Echoing these sentiments, former Nigerian Bar Association Young Lawyers Forum Chairman Uwomano Aki described terrorism as a direct assault on Nigeria's sovereignty, security, and collective existence. He stated that once a court convicts an individual of terrorism beyond a reasonable doubt and determines they pose a threat to national security, granting executive clemency is often difficult to justify.

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Terrorism is not an ordinary criminal offence; it is a direct attack on the sovereignty, security, and collective existence of the nation. Where a competent court, after a full and fair trial, has found an accused person guilty beyond reasonable doubt and determined that the individual poses a threat to national security, the suggestion that such a person should later benefit from executive clemency is, in most cases, difficult to justify.