The Inter-ethnic Network for Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, INCRA, a leading Pan-Rivers Media group in Rivers State, lends its voice in support of the public outcry of citizens and residents of Rivers State in strong condemnation of the indiscriminate grant of State pardon by the Governor through the State Chief Judge, Justice Adama Laminkara, to high profile criminals, kidnappers and thugs in quick succession without cogent reasons.
We are worried that within a very short space of 7 days, the Rivers State Government has released a total of 76 notorious criminals and thugs from prison, including 55 and 21inmates from Port Harcourt and Degema Prisons respectively, under the guise of exercising State pardon.
Our outrage and condemnation of the of the Governor's exercise of the prerogative of mercy to the these criminals is predicated on the negative resultant effect it has on the State which has lost its prideful place as a bastion of security, the absence of due process in the exercise and the propriety or otherwise of the real intent behind the pardon.
We are saddened over the situation because the Governor, in granting pardon to these criminals to actualise his personal end, negated consideration for the security implications of his action on the masses. With the yuletide by the corner, the release of these criminals from prison is capable of increasing crime rate in the State and the ordinary masses will bear the brunt of it. In granting State pardon, it is critical to ensure that the balance between the rights of the recipients of the pardon and the corresponding rights of the masses to good order and a secured environment is not breached.
It is our strong belief that the pardon is a stratagem deployed by the Governor and his team to achieve a predetermined end. With the 2019 electioneering period just a couple of months away, the Governor is under pressure to free these criminals whose services he is willing to engage in the elections. It is an undeniable fact that the Governor seized political power in the State through the instrumentality of political thugs and mercenaries.
While the poor masses are battling the systemic scourge of insecurity and uprise in crime rate, the Governor, who is mandated by the constitution to protect lives and properties, is busy releasing dangerous cultists and criminals from the prisons for political and personal reasons in disservice to the State and to the detriment of Rivers people. It is obvious that the Governor's intent is to cause an increase in crime rate in order to indict the operatives of the F-SARS whom he has made several futile attempts to heckle, harass, intimidate and suppress.
The Governor is reminded that the prerogative of mercy is a discretionary power held in public trust and must be exercised judiciously and judicially, with the highest sense of responsibility, probity and circumspection. It must not be used as an instrument of patronage for political benefactors or for self enhancement and aggrandizement but must be exercised in a reasonable manner devoid of bias and public umbrage and strictly consistent with the letters and spirit of the law and the code of conduct for all public officials.
We wish to further remind the Governor that the Code of Conduct for Public Officers reinforces forbiddance of any conflict of interest with official duty and provides that, a public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.
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