Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has robustly defended the president's decision to revise a recently approved presidential pardon list, framing the adjustment as evidence of leadership strength and responsiveness to public sentiment rather than a sign of weakness.
Speaking on Arise Television's Prime Time programme on Thursday, Onanuga addressed the controversy surrounding the initial list of 175 beneficiaries granted clemency on October 11, following approval by the Council of State.
The original pardons included individuals convicted of serious offenses, drawing sharp public backlash.
In response, President Tinubu on Wednesday directed the removal of those convicted for kidnapping, drug trafficking, human trafficking, fraud, and unlawful possession of firearms.
A prominent case was Maryam Sanda, who had been sentenced to death for stabbing her husband, Bilyamin Mohammed Bello, to death in 2017.
Her pardon was revoked, with her sentence commuted to 12 years' imprisonment.
"Nigerians should recognise that the president is human and capable of making mistakes," Onanuga stated.
"What Nigerians ought to have seen now is that this president is not one that is afraid to reverse himself if he feels like he’s made some error."
He emphasized Tinubu's attentiveness to public opinion, noting that the president personally reviews Nigerian newspapers and television daily to stay informed.
"He listens to the public. This is a president who wakes up in the morning to read all Nigerian newspapers and to watch the TV and knows what’s going on," Onanuga added.
Defending the revision as a deliberate act of accountability, Onanuga said: "It’s a matter of strength for you to do something, appraise it and make some adjustments."
While acknowledging that much of the criticism focused on Sanda's case "Most of the criticisms were coming from the case of Maryam Sanda, whom the court found guilty and sentenced to death for killing her husband", Onanuga clarified that the revised list still includes some drug offenders granted clemency.
"As to whether the president freed drug convicts, even the second list contains some drug offenders who were also given clemency," he noted.
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