The Council of State has approved the pardon of former Governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye; and ex-Governor Jolly Nyame of Taraba State, who were convicted of corruption.
They were among 159 convicts who were pardoned by the Council at its meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
The former governors were jailed for stealing public funds amounting to N1.16bn and N1.6bn, respectively.
Rev Nyame was governor of Taraba State from 1999 to 2007. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for stealing the amount belonging to the State government, a sentence that was later confirmed by the Supreme Court.
On his part, Dariye was governor of Plateau State. He was convicted in June 2018 by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. In November 2018, the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence to 10 years, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court in March last year.
The meeting of the Council was the fourth since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in May 2015. It took the decisions in the exercise of its prerogative of mercy for convicts.
The recommendations for the pardon of the convicts were said to have been made by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Although Malami did not give the names of those pardoned, it was learnt Dariye and Nyame were on the list, according to a source at the meeting.
According to Malami, the Council of State approved 159 of 162 applications presented for consideration.
.Malami told journalists that the Council rejected the proposal to pardon one of the prisoners sentenced to 120 years for stealing over N25 billion. He said the basis of the request for the person’s pardon is because of a life-threatening illness. While Malami did not disclose the identity of the convict, a source at the meeting said the person is the former Managing Director of Bank PHB, Francis Atuche.
The Council also approved the conduct of a national census to hold next year in April, after the general election.
Similarly, it was revealed that President Buhari will meet with Security chiefs on Tuesday on the spate of killings, kidnappings, and violence in the North and Southeast, following recommendations from the Council, Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru, told journalists.
The Council of State is an organ of the Federal Government responsible for advising the executive on policy matters.
Members of the Council include the President, past Presidents, the Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and both serving and past Chief Justices of Nigeria.
Others are the Attorney General of the Federation, all governors, and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory.
Those who attended the meeting were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd.), and Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibarahim Gambari, and governors.
Former presidents who attended the meeting in person were Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, and Goodluck Jonathan.
