By Lillian Okenwa
When President Muhammadu Buhari granted a state pardon in April 2022 to Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame, former governors of Plateau and Taraba states who had been convicted for stealing N1.16 billion and N1.6 billion respectively from their state treasuries while they were in office between 1999 and 2007, rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to free all prisoners who have been jailed for stealing. Falana contended that by Section 17 of the 1999 Constitution, citizens were entitled to equal rights and opportunities in which case state pardon should be extended to all prisoners who are serving jail terms for stealing.
On January 28, 2013, an Abuja High Court aroused a battery of tasteless jokes when it sentenced John Yakubu Yusufu, standing trial on charges of stealing N32.8 billion in the Police Pension scam to two years imprisonment on each of three charges, and then offered him an option of N250, 000 fine on each count. The former Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office simply paid the N750, 000 fine and walked away. But the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) went on appeal.
