Public commentator and activist, Mahdi Shehu, has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s decision to grant amnesty to Major Suleiman Alabi Akubo, describing it as a dangerous precedent and a show of selective justice.
In a post shared on X on Tuesday, Shehu expressed shock that Major Alabi who was convicted for his role in the theft of about 7,000 military weapons from the Nigerian Army Armoury in Jaji, Kaduna State was among those pardoned in the recent presidential clemency.
According to Shehu, the officer led a group of eight soldiers who between 2000 and 2006 gained illegal access to the army’s armoury and sold weapons to militants.
He said all eight were tried by a military court martial chaired by Brigadier General Bala Usara, found guilty, and sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes including criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, illegal dealings in firearms, and aiding the enemy.
“But shockingly, the leader of the syndicate, Major Alabi Suleiman Akubo, was among those pardoned by Tinubu in the 2025 amnesty jamboree,” Shehu wrote.
“What about the remaining seven military personnel convicted alongside him? Why were they not granted the same clemency?”
He further questioned why Sunny Okor, allegedly the buyer of the stolen weapons, remains in detention, saying the government’s action exposes double standards.
“The 7,000 weapons in the hands of militants were not used for hunting animals but for crimes that claimed innocent lives. How do you expect the families of the victims to feel seeing the man responsible walking free?” he asked.
Shehu also compared the treatment of Major Alabi with that of other high-profile detainees.
“If Major Alabi is a free man, Dokubo Asari is a friend of the government, and Tompolo is a billionaire security contractor, why are Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Tukur Mamu still behind bars?” he queried.
He accused President Tinubu of displaying tribalistic and nepotistic tendencies, saying the pardon could embolden future offenders.
“If tomorrow another group of soldiers from a different tribe breaks into an armoury, steals weapons, and sells them to terrorists, they might believe that one day, a president from their tribe will grant them amnesty,” he warned.
“Thus Tinubu nurtures a dangerous mindset and sets an even more dangerous precedent. With this Avoidable blunder it will not come to many Nigerians as a surprise if one day soon the Name of Major Alabi Suleiman granted National honour or even appointed to an exalted office in Nigeria. It has happened before.“
