Sunday Jackson’s Pardon: Lawyers Hail Justice Ogunwumiju, Gov. Fintiri on Inside Sources

Lawyers and public affairs commentators have commended the intervention of Justice Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju and Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, following the pardon granted to Sunday Jackson, describing the decision as a triumph of conscience, fairness and public confidence in the justice system. Speaking on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television on […]

Lawyers and public affairs commentators have commended the intervention of Justice Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju and Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, following the pardon granted to Sunday Jackson, describing the decision as a triumph of conscience, fairness and public confidence in the justice system.
Speaking on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television on Friday, Ibrahim Wali, a lawyer and public affairs analyst, praised Governor Fintiri for exercising his constitutional powers to grant Jackson a state pardon, despite the sensitive security climate in the country.
“Kudos to the governor, he could have decided not to [grant the pardon to Sunday Jackson],” Wali said. “With the way Nigeria is currently, insecurity, the classic case of self-defence of this nature helps literally everybody. It strengthens resistance; it strengthens the trust in the system. I think this victory is for conscience, for all Nigerians.”
Wali also lauded the role played by Justice Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju of the Supreme Court, whose intervention and recommendation for Jackson’s pardon helped shift the narrative from rigid legalism to justice tempered with humanity.
According to him, Justice Ogunwumiju’s insights demonstrated the importance of judicial voices that are alive to social realities and moral responsibility, especially in cases bordering on self-defence and the right to life.
Also contributing to the discussion, Emmanuel Ogebe, a United States–based Nigerian lawyer and human rights advocate, welcomed Jackson’s freedom but warned that deeper systemic issues remain unresolved.
“The fact remains that it is Jackson who has been freed, but the Nigerian population has not been freed,” Ogebe said. “Why? This was a political resolution. This was not a judicial resolution. Which means that, that perverse judgement is still a precedence that held that Nigerian citizens cannot defend themselves.”
Ogebe argued that while the pardon has corrected an individual injustice, it has not overturned the legal precedent that many Nigerians fear could criminalise legitimate self-defence. He stressed that without a clear judicial reversal, citizens may continue to feel vulnerable in the face of insecurity.
Nevertheless, Ogebe noted that the governor’s action has generated unprecedented goodwill across the country, cutting across political, ethnic and religious lines.
“I also want to mention that Governor Fintiri is now the most famous, most loved Governor in Nigeria in the last 24 hours,” he said. “People who do not know him before, today they know his name because he did the right thing. It is amazing the goodwill that single gesture has created.”
Analysts on the programme agreed that the Jackson pardon has reopened national conversations about self-defence, judicial discretion, and the balance between strict legal interpretation and justice. They noted that while executive clemency provided immediate relief, long-term confidence in the justice system would require clearer legal protections for citizens acting in genuine self-defence.
The consensus on Inside Sources was that the combined roles of Justice Ogunwumiju and Governor Fintiri have set a powerful moral example, one that resonates with Nigerians yearning for a justice system that is not only lawful, but also humane.