The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to grant presidential pardons to several convicted drug traffickers and smugglers.

In a statement issued on Sunday, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the move as “pathetic and a national disgrace.”

According to Abdullahi, the decision amounts to “a most irresponsible abuse of the presidential power of mercy.”

He said the pardons were granted to people convicted of serious crimes like drug trafficking and smuggling — many of whom have “barely served two years in jail for offences that carry a penalty of life imprisonment.”

The ADC accused the government of sending the wrong signal to the public and the international community, saying it suggests that “all it takes to get presidential clemency for even the worst of crimes in Nigeria, including drug trafficking, gun running, and murder, is to ‘show remorse and learn skills.’”

The party stressed that such clemency “strikes at the very foundation of Nigeria’s legal and moral stance against narcotics” and “makes a mockery of the gallant efforts” of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other security agencies that have “risked life and limb” to fight drug crimes.

It further warned that the pardons could damage Nigeria’s reputation globally, saying they, “undercut our standing among global partners in the fight against drug trafficking” and make the country appear “a risk-free jurisdiction for traffickers in narcotics.”

The ADC accused President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of “redefining the standard of morality” in Nigeria and “gradually transforming the country into a place where even the worst of crimes attract no punishment.”

The statement then reaffirmed the party’s commitment to “rescue our country from this ruling party, the APC, to whom public opinion or accountability means nothing, and power and impunity mean everything.”