OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR OF NIGER STATE,
Your Excellency, Farmer Governor Bago
We, the people of Gaba in Lavun Local Government, have decided to use this medium to air our grievances and not keep silent over the exercise of state pardon granted to convicted murderers of our relatives.
Your Excellency, Farmer Governor, Umaru Bago, the murder of seven (7) innocent, unarmed individuals from the Gaba community whose corpses were severely mutilated and body parts carted away by the convicted murderers is considered to be the most heinous crime that ever happened in the history of NUPE people.
It took the intervention of community elders and well-meaning Nigerlites to stop retaliation from Gaba youths and allow justice to run its course through the legal process. Those found guilty by the court were meant to face the full weight of justice. But with the steps you were ill-advised to take today, we fear your good name will be dragged in the mud.
Your Excellency, the powers of the prerogative of mercy enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are intended to serve as a tool for justice and compensation in exceptional circumstances and not to be misused to undermine the sanctity of the Judiciary.
Granting pardon to the eleven persons convicted for the offense of murder devalues the lives of the victims, disrespects their families, and erodes public confidence in the administration of state affairs through your leadership.
This action will earn you the reputation of being the first Governor in Niger State history to weaponize the power of state pardon to subvert and circumvent justice. It will go down in Niger State history as a reference point that in your tenure as Governor, you created a backdoor escape for convicted murderers and criminals.
Your stance on the criminal activities in Minna that recently caused your government to impose a curfew on motorcycle and tricycle operations will also appear laughable.
More worrisome is the fact that it will undermine the sanctity of the Judiciary and the painstaking process by which conviction was secured, it will dampen the morale of law enforcement agencies who investigated the case, trample on the rights and memories of the victims and their families, encourage Nigerlites to seek alternatives to get justice and just maybe, ignite another round of loss of lives and properties.
This ill-advised action is sending a dangerous message that the process of political or executive discretion can absolve weighty crimes such as taking a human life. I need not remind you, Your Excellency, that your most important duty is to secure the lives and property of all Nigerlites and ensure their well-being.
In this instance, we are afraid to state that the State failed to secure the lives of the victims and now failed to give justice to them.
Mr Governor Sir, we call on you to reconsider this pardon, uphold the sanctity of the judicial process, and ensure that justice is not sacrificed on the altar of political convenience or vested interest.
Isah Baba
PRO
Gaba Development Association
# JUSTICEFORGABA
