Tinubu Cannot Reverse Presidential Pardon, Says Lawyer Frank Tietie on Maryam Sanda’s Return to Prison

Legal practitioner and public affairs analyst, Frank Tietie, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s reported reversal of a presidential pardon earlier granted to Maryam Sanda, insisting that once a pardon is signed, it becomes final and cannot be withdrawn.

Tietie, who spoke during an interview on Arise News, described the President’s action as unconstitutional, emphasising that the power of pardon, once exercised, cannot be undone. His comments followed reports that Sanda, previously pardoned, had been removed from the list and her sentence reviewed and reduced to 12 years.

“Immediately the President grants a pardon, he cannot take it back. The people are immensely free,” Tietie asserted. “He cannot exercise judicial powers by saying you are no longer fit for pardon. It is not within his constitutional power.”

According to him, Section 5 of the Nigerian Constitution confers only executive powers on the President, not judicial authority. “The President is not the Judiciary,” he stated. “At the time he signed the completed list of pardon, it was a completed act. He no longer has the power to reverse it once it’s already accepted.”

Tietie argued that issues like subsidy removal, tariff increases, and borrowing decisions reflected a lack of responsiveness in leadership, noting that a “listening President” would have reconsidered such actions. However, on the matter of pardon, he maintained that the President’s powers were clearly defined and limited.

“The good thing is that we have courts that will interpret these very well,” Tietie added. “The President cannot convict or re-convict anyone after granting them a pardon. Once he has completed the act of clemency, those individuals are free under the law. He cannot order them back to prison, it’s not within his rights.”

He concluded that the controversy surrounding Sanda’s return to prison would likely be tested in court, where judicial interpretation would determine the legality of the President’s reversal.

“If we had a listening President, he would have reversed the subsidy removal, increase in tariff, loans intended and ultimately borrowed, so at the time the President signed the completed list of pardon, it was a completed act, he no longer has power to reverse, and it’s already accepted.”