Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), says he will grant amnesty to corruption suspects if elected president.

Atiku made the promise during a town hall event called ‘The Candidates’ on Wednesday, January 30, 2019.

Asked by moderator Kadaria Ahmed if corrupt persons would be granted amnesty if he becomes president, Atiku wasted no time responding in the affirmative.

“Why not? I give you an example of Turkey. Turkey gave amnesty and all the monies taken abroad were brought back and the government said when you bring the money back, you don’t need to pay taxes. Invest in manufacturing, technology and real estate.

“And look at Turkey today. It is like any other European country today,” Atiku answered.

When Ahmed reminded Atiku that his amnesty proposal for the corrupt could prove morally indefensible, the presidential candidate doubled down on his stance by saying it would be better to get looted monies back into the treasury rather than prosecute allegedly corrupt persons.

“If you are to go and be prosecuting these people, you will still be prosecuting them and would not get the money. Is it moral rectitude that you want to achieve or you want to see a fast development of your country?” Atiku asked rhetorically.

What Amnesty actually means

Amnesty is defined as an official pardon granted to persons who have been convicted of political offences. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines ‘Amnesty’ as an act of “pardoning (someone) officially often before a trial or conviction”.

What Atiku is essentially saying is that he won’t waste time prosecuting the corrupt and looters of the nation’s commonwealth as long as they return their loot. Once the loot is returned, corrupt persons can walk the land free and there will be no charges bordering on theft, slapped on them.

It is important to state at this point that Amnesty as used here, is different from the concept of Plea Bargain deployed in litigation.

Plea Bargain is a negotiation agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant, with the defendant permitted to plead guilty to a reduced charge. 

All over the world, the best form of deterrence against corruption or theft, is prosecution or some time in jail. If people know that there is no punishment for a crime aside from some bloody restitution, they will keep committing the crime.

You don’t tell corruption suspects that they won’t be prosecuted if they are caught because by doing so, you will only open the floodgates for corruption on a grander scale. In any case, how do you determine what is returned? Who accounts for returned monies? What happens to suspects who are only able to return a fraction of what they stole?

Will the smaller, petty thieves languishing in unkempt prison cells across Nigeria, also be entitled to Atiku's amnesty or will this be another case of one rule for the bigger thieves or elite and another for the smaller thieves with no connects to boast of?

Coming from the same Atiku who promised to enrich his friends if elected president and who still has a slew of corruption allegations dangling round his neck, this amnesty prescription sure has a tinge of de javu to it. It's a slippery slope to further institutionalization of corruption as we have come to know it.

We can accuse President Buhari of waging a selective anti-corruption war, but his hard public stance on theft of government monies has arguably sent shivers down the spines of once untouchable lords of the manor.

Atiku has lived with a reputation for corrupt enrichment since he served as the Comptroller General of Customs in the ‘70s. On Wednesday night, he was handed the opportunity to abhor a plague that has crippled his country and in clear, unmistakable terms, take a hard stance on corruption while clearing his own battered name. 

Suffice to say, Atiku blew that opportunity in spectacular fashion.