LEGAL CONUNDRUM OF AMNESTY GRANT AS MECHANISM FOR COMBATING TERRORISM IN NIGERIA: SHARI’AH STANDPOINT
Amnesty grant is one of the powers conferred on the President or
the Governor as the case may be under the Nigerian constitution.
The scope of amnesty grant covers pardoning of offenders before
and after prosecutions. Nigerian government has over the year
granted amnesties to offenders covering the foregoing. However,
the legal conundrum cropped up with respect to amnesty granted
prior to offenders’ prosecution. The validity of the earlier actions
remains questionable due to the constitutional inadequacy. This
paper thus examines the legal conundrum of the amnesty grant as
mechanism for combating terrorism in Nigeria from Shari’ah
standpoint vide doctrinal method of legal research. The paper
reveals that the Nigerian legal regime is adequate with respect to
grant of amnesty to offenders after convictions. The grant of
amnesty prior to prosecution remains a serious legal issue as a
result of legislative inadequacy. The paper finds that such
inadequacy is absent in the jurisprudence of Islamic law as the real
focus of amnesty from Shari’ah standpoint is on that exercised in
favour of the offender prior to prosecution upon the satisfaction of
the requirements of repentance. Borrowing leaf from Shari’ah
standpoint, amendment of the legal framework for amnesty grant
in Nigeria is accordingly recommended to put an end to the legal
conundrum.
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