In 'Why Governor Fintiri holds the key to Sunday Jackson’s Freedom,' WeekendDigits@ITREALMS by REMMY NWEKE unpacks the powerful intersection of justice, mercy, and political will, exploring how one governor’s decision could redefine redemption, governance, and humanity across Adamawa State and beyond.
The Mercy Divide:
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s list of pardons and commuted sentences was released in October 2025, it was hailed as a bold gesture of compassion and justice reform. More than 150 convicts from the infamous to the forgotten, regained their freedom or saw their sentences reduced.
Understanding clemency in Nigeria’s constitution:
The case has re-ignited public discourse on the powers of pardon within Nigeria’s federal structure. Section 175 of the Constitution empowers the President to grant clemency for federal offences; crimes tried under federal laws or before Federal High Courts. Section 212, on the other hand, grants each State Governor the authority to pardon, commute, or remit sentences for state offences.
Sunday Jackson’s conviction falls under the latter: a state-level offence tried in an Adamawa High Court under the Penal Code. Therefore, only Governor Fintiri, through the Adamawa State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, can legally review and commute his sentence. The President’s power does not extend to this jurisdiction.
In other words, Tinubu’s mercy stops at the federal border; the decision now rests squarely on Fintiri’s desk.
Morality for Clemency:
Clemency is not an escape from justice — it is an expression of humanity within justice. The Constitution embeds this prerogative to correct miscarriages, acknowledge remorse, and reflect society’s capacity for compassion.
Reports from correctional authorities indicate that Sunday Jackson has maintained good conduct during incarceration, engaged in vocational training, and expressed remorse over the tragic event. These, combined with the broader context of communal conflict, form the moral and legal basis for clemency.
Granting mercy would not undermine the rule of law; rather, it would reaffirm it — demonstrating that justice can coexist with empathy.
Broader implications of justice, public trust, and governance:
The Jackson case embodies the intersection of justice reform, rural inequality, and governance accountability. It exposes how poverty and limited access to legal defence can tilt the scales against rural Nigerians. It also tests whether state institutions can rise above retribution to embrace rehabilitation and fairness.
For Governor Fintiri, this moment presents more than a legal decision — it is a leadership test. His choice could strengthen public faith in state governance and set a benchmark for compassionate justice across Nigeria. In a political climate where citizens often feel disconnected from power, mercy can become a bridge of trust.
Comparative insight:
Across Nigeria, governors have used the Prerogative of Mercy to decongest prisons and correct injustices. In Lagos, Enugu, and Kano, state leaders have granted pardons to convicts who demonstrated remorse or reformed conduct. These actions, far from being symbolic, illustrate the transformative role of executive compassion in criminal justice.
Governor Fintiri has the same constitutional tool — and a unique opportunity to apply it in a case that has captured national conscience. The power of mercy, when wisely exercised, becomes an instrument of governance as impactful as legislation or policy.
Conclusively Governor’s defining moment:
The fate of Sunday Jackson now rests not in the corridors of the Presidency, but within the conscience of Adamawa’s Government House. The Constitution gives Governor Fintiri both the authority and the moral burden to decide whether a life marked by remorse should end on the gallows or begin anew in freedom.
Mercy, after all, is not weakness, it is strength restrained by compassion. In acting on Jackson’s case, Fintiri can prove that justice in Nigeria is not blind to humanity.
WeekendDigits@ITREALMS — where data meets conscience, and governance meets accountability - by Remmy Nweke
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s list of pardons and commuted sentences was released in October 2025, it was hailed as a bold gesture of compassion and justice reform. More than 150 convicts from the infamous to the forgotten, regained their freedom or saw their sentences reduced.
Yet, amid the applause, one name remained conspicuously absent: Sunday Jackson, a 30-year-old farmer from Adamawa State, still languishing on death row.
Jackson’s case has stirred nationwide debate, not merely for its tragedy, but for what it reveals about Nigeria’s layered justice system. Convicted of culpable homicide after a violent encounter with a herdsman, an act many say was self-defence; his plea for clemency continues to hang between law and mercy. And in this delicate balance, it is not the President, but Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who holds the constitutional key to Jackson’s freedom.
Law meets tragedy:
Sunday Jackson was a student and subsistence farmer from Dong community in Demsa Local Government Area, Adamawa State. His life took a fatal turn when an altercation with a herder ended in the latter’s death. Arrested and charged with culpable homicide, Jackson was convicted and sentenced to death, a decision upheld up to the Supreme Court.
Civil society organisations, including ActionAid Nigeria and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), have consistently argued that Jackson’s act was one of self-defence, citing the long-standing conflicts between farmers and herders in the Middle Belt. Their plea is simple: that justice must be tempered with mercy, and that the state must not execute a man for defending his life and livelihood.
Jackson’s case has stirred nationwide debate, not merely for its tragedy, but for what it reveals about Nigeria’s layered justice system. Convicted of culpable homicide after a violent encounter with a herdsman, an act many say was self-defence; his plea for clemency continues to hang between law and mercy. And in this delicate balance, it is not the President, but Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who holds the constitutional key to Jackson’s freedom.
Law meets tragedy:
Sunday Jackson was a student and subsistence farmer from Dong community in Demsa Local Government Area, Adamawa State. His life took a fatal turn when an altercation with a herder ended in the latter’s death. Arrested and charged with culpable homicide, Jackson was convicted and sentenced to death, a decision upheld up to the Supreme Court.
Civil society organisations, including ActionAid Nigeria and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), have consistently argued that Jackson’s act was one of self-defence, citing the long-standing conflicts between farmers and herders in the Middle Belt. Their plea is simple: that justice must be tempered with mercy, and that the state must not execute a man for defending his life and livelihood.
Understanding clemency in Nigeria’s constitution:
The case has re-ignited public discourse on the powers of pardon within Nigeria’s federal structure. Section 175 of the Constitution empowers the President to grant clemency for federal offences; crimes tried under federal laws or before Federal High Courts. Section 212, on the other hand, grants each State Governor the authority to pardon, commute, or remit sentences for state offences.
Sunday Jackson’s conviction falls under the latter: a state-level offence tried in an Adamawa High Court under the Penal Code. Therefore, only Governor Fintiri, through the Adamawa State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, can legally review and commute his sentence. The President’s power does not extend to this jurisdiction.
In other words, Tinubu’s mercy stops at the federal border; the decision now rests squarely on Fintiri’s desk.
Morality for Clemency:
Clemency is not an escape from justice — it is an expression of humanity within justice. The Constitution embeds this prerogative to correct miscarriages, acknowledge remorse, and reflect society’s capacity for compassion.
Reports from correctional authorities indicate that Sunday Jackson has maintained good conduct during incarceration, engaged in vocational training, and expressed remorse over the tragic event. These, combined with the broader context of communal conflict, form the moral and legal basis for clemency.
Granting mercy would not undermine the rule of law; rather, it would reaffirm it — demonstrating that justice can coexist with empathy.
Broader implications of justice, public trust, and governance:
The Jackson case embodies the intersection of justice reform, rural inequality, and governance accountability. It exposes how poverty and limited access to legal defence can tilt the scales against rural Nigerians. It also tests whether state institutions can rise above retribution to embrace rehabilitation and fairness.
For Governor Fintiri, this moment presents more than a legal decision — it is a leadership test. His choice could strengthen public faith in state governance and set a benchmark for compassionate justice across Nigeria. In a political climate where citizens often feel disconnected from power, mercy can become a bridge of trust.
Comparative insight:
Across Nigeria, governors have used the Prerogative of Mercy to decongest prisons and correct injustices. In Lagos, Enugu, and Kano, state leaders have granted pardons to convicts who demonstrated remorse or reformed conduct. These actions, far from being symbolic, illustrate the transformative role of executive compassion in criminal justice.
Governor Fintiri has the same constitutional tool — and a unique opportunity to apply it in a case that has captured national conscience. The power of mercy, when wisely exercised, becomes an instrument of governance as impactful as legislation or policy.
Conclusively Governor’s defining moment:
The fate of Sunday Jackson now rests not in the corridors of the Presidency, but within the conscience of Adamawa’s Government House. The Constitution gives Governor Fintiri both the authority and the moral burden to decide whether a life marked by remorse should end on the gallows or begin anew in freedom.
Mercy, after all, is not weakness, it is strength restrained by compassion. In acting on Jackson’s case, Fintiri can prove that justice in Nigeria is not blind to humanity.
WeekendDigits@ITREALMS — where data meets conscience, and governance meets accountability - by Remmy Nweke
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