The Nigerian Correctional Service, Federal Capital Territory Command, on Monday released two former governors, Joshua Dariye (Plateau) and Jolly Nyame (Taraba), as well as three others from custodial centres.
The Public Relations Officer, FCT command, Chukwuedo Humphrey, disclosed this to journalists in Abuja.
Humphrey said that the letter of their release was sent to the command by the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy Committee on Monday.
He said that the two former governors were pardoned on ill health and age grounds and were released immediately, but did not disclose the names of the three others
“We have no right to hold them further as soon as we have the letter of clemency from the presidency. If we do, it will be against their fundamental human rights.
“They have left the facility today. We got the warrant of release today and have done the needful.
“Dariye and Nyame were in Kuje custodial centre while the three others were in Suleja custodial centre,” he said.
The former governors were among the 159 prisoners pardoned by the Council of State during a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on April 14, 2022.
Jolly Nyame, 66, a former governor of Taraba State from 1999 to 2007, was serving a 12-year jail term at the Kuje prison over misappropriation of funds while he was in office.
Joshua Dariye, 64, who governed Plateau State between 1999 and 2007, was also jailed for corruption during his time as governor between 1999 and 2007.
While Nyame was sentenced for 12 years for diverting N1.64 billion during his tenure as governor of Taraba, Dariye was sentenced for 10 years’ imprisonment for N1.126 billion fraud.
To this effect, the pardon of the former governors drew a lot of flakes from Nigerians as they claimed that the Federal Government was encouraging corruption.
Justifying the clemency, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the president, Garba Shehu, said that it would have been insensitive for the president not to pardon the duo, saying that they had life-threatening illnesses.
However, the duo could not be released immediately by the correctional service because, according to the Public Relations Officer of NCoS, Abubakar Umar, the Ministry of Justice would send a correspondence stating so.
