Sunday Jackson Missing, Not Excluded From President Tinubu’s State Pardon

BY GBOGBOWA GBOWA

Irrespective of how citizens perceive President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, l think that he is first of all human and l also think that we must give this consideration space whilst appraising his political performance.

This is because, however politicians, especially Nigerian politicians  pretend to exalt in perfection as they sign off ‘as all knowing’, President Tinubu’s human strength and or weaknesses depicting his human nature must be accorded a place in the totality of his actions and inactions, achievements and or failures.

His Abeokuta Tough Talk and Declaration in 2022 which sent President Muhammadu Buhari scampering for cover, and his benevolent graces at the recent Kaduna APC Confab earlier this year in which he commanded that security operatives should ignore a misguided stone thrower with him as the target;  are few examples of his fine human aura and their vagaries that cannot be ignored.

On this premise, l dare to say that l believe that President Tinubu couldn’t have dismissed the matter of Sunday Jackson; and further believe that the president’s true nature abhors injustice.

Supposed for some freakish reasons, Sunday Jackson’s case was sincerely forgotten and not tabled for Mr. President’s attention? As human, there is a limit even a president’s personal  diary can achieve, and there is no scientific antidote against presidential aides failure pattern.

Perhaps, it would be a lot easier if society gets to know that rather than outright exclusion, Sunday Jackson’s name was simply missing owing to one of several reasons.

No doubt that President Tinubu’s seeming exclusion of Sunday Jackson from the recent presidential pardon raises troubling questions about the consistency, fairness, and moral compass guiding Nigeria’s justice reforms.

As an optimist and one fairly ‘familiar’ with the high-tension nature of governance at the highest level, l like to think that something apparently went wrong. The president’s decision to grant clemency to 175 convicts—including high-profile murderers, corrupt officials, and even posthumous figures like Ken Saro-Wiwa was framed as a gesture of reconciliation and justice reform.

Yet, the glaring omission of Sunday Jackson, a young farmer sentenced to death for allegedly defending himself against a herdsman attack, casts a shadow over the entire exercise.

In 2013, Jackson was reportedly involved in a fatal altercation with a Fulani herder who was said to have invaded his farmland and threatened him with a weapon. Despite that Jackson claimed self-defense, he was convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to death.

His case has become emblematic of the broader tensions between farmers and herders in Nigeria, and many Nigerians view his conviction as a miscarriage of justice.

Then came the presidential pardon in question— for which Aso Rock cited remorse, good conduct, old age, and educational efforts as factors for clemency. Yet Jackson, who has reportedly maintained good behavior and whose case involves self-defense, was excluded.

Meanwhile, individuals convicted of deliberate murder and large-scale frauds were pardoned, including Maryam Sanda, convicted of killing her husband. Thus the pardon list has been criticized as a “bazaar” of selective mercy, with many questioning whether political connections or public image influenced the choices.

Jackson’s exclusion has reignited public outrage, especially among rural communities and justice advocates who see his case as a litmus test for the sincerity of the President’s justice reform agenda.

To be sure, President Tinubu’s clemency initiative was a chance to demonstrate moral clarity and restorative justice. However, by excluding Sunday Jackson, a figure many view as a victim of systemic bias, the administration has not only missed a chance to correct a possible judicial wrong but also undermined the credibility of its broader justice reform efforts.

If the goal was to “right colonial and military wrongs” and promote reconciliation, then Jackson’s case should have been central—not sidelined. His continued incarceration sends a chilling message to ordinary Nigerians that justice is a privilege, not a right.

Whatever the errors were, since it is not the character of President Tinubu- going by his father figure and exemplary leadership that is open to correction- remember the necessity to switch the transportation ministry for the marine and blue economy ministry for Adegboyega Oyetola CON in 2023- President Tinubu should bend double-backwards to call for the file of Sunday Jackson and carry out a supplementary action.

That alone would remedy the apparent oversight and redeem his image as a leader with strong moral gauge.