As part of celebrations marking Nigeria’s 54th independence anniversary, the Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 granted state pardon to sixteen individuals, including a 94-year old man, Canice Egbunnane and a 70-year old inmate Chidi Nwosu, according to a Vanguard report.
Governor Okorocha said he granted the pardon to Egbunnane and Nwosu on the basis of their respective ages, while acting withing the boundaries of his powers on prerogative of mercy.
He said: “I acted on the recommendations of the Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, which I earlier set up with the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Chief Chukwuma-Machukwu Umeh (SAN), as chairman.”
It was gathered that eleven of the pardoned persons were jailed for non-capital crimes and were close to rounding up their respective prison times, with six months or less left.
On Nigeria at 54, the governor said it was time for the country to focus on tackling insecurity, youth unemployment, selfishness and corruption among leaders, lack of patriotism, emphasis on ethnicity, insurgency among other issues plaguing the nation.
