Nigerians have expressed concern over the continued grant of amnesty by President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to bandits and terrorists, saying the policy worsens the country’s insecurity.

Some South-South residents believed pardoning bandits questioned the nation’s sincerity in fighting insurgency and other crimes. They said the consequences of pardoning them would be detrimental to the nation’s general well-being and the people.

Eyobio Okon, a lawyer in Uyo, called for severe punishment for bandits and terrorists in the regime’s custody as a deterrent to others.

The lawyer noted that there were certain offences in which the regime had prerogative power under the constitution to pardon the perpetrator, but in the case of banditry and terrorism, morality should be considered.

According to him, the punishment for such offences is death without pardon.

A legal practitioner in Calabar, Timothy Idege, expressed worry that after losing many citizens to terrorists or bandits, the regime still considered it wise to grant them amnesty and pointed out that the gesture would suggest that being law-abiding is useless.

Mr Idege noted that Niger Delta militants, whom he said agitated for the development of their region, did not go about killing innocent citizens.

Henry Ekini, national legal adviser of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) in Rivers, recommended maximum punishment for bandits and terrorists.

“As much as the law permits the certain authority to grant pardon, crimes that are destructive shouldn’t be considered for clemency. Terrorists and bandits should not be considered for state pardon because their criminal activities run contrary to public policy and interest,” he said.

On his part, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, Gabriel Dunia, urged Mr Buhari’s regime to name and prosecute all accomplices of the insurgents.

Mr Dunia said it had become imperative that sponsors of insecurity be specifically identified, adding that their motives aimed at destabilising the nation.

A Muslim cleric, Momoh Ibrahim, said Nigerians were tired of hearing about the regime’s plan to uncover the sponsors of terrorism in the country without any arrest or prosecution.

Another legal practitioner, Mike Atemagbon, said he was worried about the dimension terrorism had taken in Nigeria.

“I am referring to Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 as amended, and Terrorism Prevention Amended Act 2013, which spells out who the terrorists are and what punishment is meant for them,” he said.

A public servant in Yenagoa, Lawrence Emiola, decried the death of innocent Nigerians by bandits and terrorists, lamenting that the country has become a “battlefield.”

He urged Mr Buhari’s regime to intensify efforts toward eradicating terrorism and banditry. 

(NAN)