The clarification, made by the Senior Special Assistant for Public Affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe in a statement issued in Abuja, followed scathing remarks by some individuals and groups on the government action .
Other beneficiaries of the amnesty included a former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, late Major-general Shehu Musa Yar’Adua,; Major Bello Magaji, Mohammed Lima Biu, Shettima Bulama, late Major General Abdulkareem Adisa and Major Segun Fadipe.
Okupe said it was it was disrespectful to query a pardon granted the beneficiaries, saying, “It’s about time we began to respect constituted authority.”
He said while the decision might not have gone down well with some citizens, there is no reason to whip up undue sentiments over a decision reached at the highest level of governance in the country and in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution.
In 2005, Alamieyesigha was arrested at the Heathrow Airport in London on suspicion of money laundering.
At that time, he was the governor of Bayelsa with President Jonathan, then, his deputy.
Okupe noted that the former Bayelsa governor had suffered enough having gone to jail and forfeited some stolen property to the state.
He said: “The relationship between President Jonathan and Alamieyeseigha is not something that is hidden, neither is it something that is immoral. It was a pardon that was granted by the highest institution in the country. It is not every decision that a parent takes that is palatable to the children. But, later, you find out that you have taken the right decision as a parent. ”
“The Council is empowered to grant the pardon. And why is all this noise about Alamieyeseigha and the pardon? Is it because it is him? Is it because he is a Niger Deltan? Is it because of his closeness to Jonathan? Even in our laws, though I am not a lawyer, there are certain offences that you commit and after ten years, you receive presidential pardon. There is a Yoruba adage that says: “you asked a thief to ran, he runs. You asked him to drop what he has stolen, he did. What else do you want from him?”
Okupe added, “The National Council of State, comprising all former Heads of State, all retired Chief Justices of Nigeria, all serving governors of the federation, and including the leadership of the a National Assembly and President Goodluck Jonathan himself met yesterday (Tuesday).
Okupe said the idea of a pardon showed that it was meant not for the innocent but for those who might have been found guilty of some offences and had either finished serving their sentences or in the process of serving those sentences.
He explained that the framers of the Nigerian Constitution envisaged the need for some ex- convicts to be re-integrated into the society, especially if they had shown penitence and willingness to contribute positively to societal growth.
Meanwhile, Nuhu Ribadu, presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria in the 2011 poll has said that the presidential pardon granted to Alamieyeseigha, is demoralising to those who sacrificed their lives to fight corruption, Ribadu, who spoke to BBC Hausa service, Wednesday, also said the president’s action is a big setback to the fight against corruption.
“I am highly disappointed by the president’s decision,” he said.
Ribadu added that Jonathan’s decision to pardon those who were arrested and prosecuted by relevant anti graft agencies sends the wrong signal to those agencies and will kill their morale.
Meanwhile, the family of the late Major General Mamman Vatsa has passionately appealed to President Jonathan to extend the pardon to the late soldier, poet and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.
He was among nine others implicated in the 1986 coup against the regime of former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida.
Speaking to newsmen in Minna on Wednesday at his residence in Minna, the Niger State capital on behalf of the family, Mr Jonathan Vatsa, a nephew to the late general, said that the family commended the courage of the government in pardoning the officers implicated over the 1995 and 1997 coups against the regime of the late General Sani Abacha but appealed that the gesture be extended to General Vatsa and others concvicted over the 1986 coup.
“We salute the courage of President Goodluck Joanthan and the Council of State in granting pardon to officers implicated in military coups, we pray that Mr. President will extend this gesture to Major General Mamman Vatsa and nine others who were unjustly implicated despite public outcry and execution by the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida in 1986..
“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was approached by the family, even my late Uncle’s wife, Shefiat of blessed memories , made several efforts before she died two years ago but Obasanjo refused, arguing that he (OBJ) will not want to open old wounds in the military,’’ Jonathan Vatsa recalled.
Corroborating Jonathan Vatsa’s claim, the first son of the late former FCT Minister, Mr. Haruna Vatsa in a telephone interview told the Nigerian Tribune, “Those granted pardon on Tuesday by Mr. President were alleged to have committed the same offence with my father, Major General Maman Vatsa and nine others, though at different times, we expect that the gesture will be extended to all. We appeal to the President to consider those implicated in 1986 coup and similar pardon extended to them,’’ Haruna Vatsa appealed.
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