A window of opportunity is still open for promoters of violence in the country to denounce their activities and embrace peace because the government is willing to facilitate their integration and rehabilitation into society, President Goodluck Jonathan said in Abuja yesterday.He however warned that the government will deliver 'swift and certain justice for criminal elements.' He said those bent on perpetrating violence should be prepared to face the wrath of the law because the security forces in the country have been told to go after 'all promoters of terror and other anti-social activities in the country and bring them to book.'Jonathan handed down the warning after inaugurating a 13-man Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy which has the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) as the Chairman. Special Duties Office in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) will serve as the secretary. Adoke was represented at the ceremony by a committee member, Tunji Abayomi.Members of the committee include retired Police Deputy Inspector General Uba Ringim, representing the police, Alhaji Manir Ja'afaru, M.J. Okpolo (SAN), Mr CN Orji, Dr Tunji Abayomi and Mr Bolaji Ayorinde. Other members include representatives of the Nigeria Prisons Service, Jama'ataul Nasril Islam (JNI), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), among others.The president, who was apparently referring to the wave of deadly armed attacks and bombings in the country blamed on the Boko Haram sect, said, 'While we intend to always provide a window of opportunity for those who have seen the folly of their anti-social behaviour to retrace their steps, I wish to renew my call to those that choose to live on the fringes of the law: Retrace your steps and we will work with you to facilitate your reintegration and rehabilitation. If you undermine the state, be prepared to face the full wrath of the law.'Today, our character and reputation as a caring and forgiving people are under severe test by frequent acts of mindless brigandage which have resulted in the maiming and killing of hundreds of our citizens, including those engaged in the noble of act of serving their fatherland.'We now confront evil of a nature that is totally unacceptable to all religions, our culture and our sense of humanity. I salute those who have refused to buy into the siren song of destruction, which some agents of violence are promoting.'I also want to reassure those of our people who have lost their relatives to these crimes that we shall bring the perpetrators to book. We share in your pain. We stand united, as we confront the inhumane actions of the misguided few who seem determined to violate the core values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence. We shall fight and defeat that evil.'We are resolute in our charge to the security agencies to go after all promoters of terror and other anti-social activities in the country and bring them to book.'The president also advocated a review of justice administration process to provide for parole or suspended sentences as in some other jurisdictions, saying the cycle of justice should also include forgiveness and relief for those that are manifestly repentant.He said, 'The pervasive assumption is that the Nigerian penal system is punitive, and that every encounter with the law may be a permanent exit from decent society. My view is that we need to place emphasis on our penal system being more correctional.'We need to create opportunities for convicted persons, either after completing their terms or before they do so, considering the circumstances, to be reintegrated back into society, and rehabilitated.'Perhaps we can achieve a lot more by making the justice system a bit more redemptive. In doing this, we will also need to pay particular attention to human rights, especially where there is ample evidence of abuse.'Jonathan also called on the committee to go beyond the routine decongestion of prisons and redressing the miscarriage of justice by recommending action for cultural transformation and value reorientation.He told the committee to strictly assess every case on its own merit, saying the government would not exercise the prerogative of mercy on a quota basis or in deference to the considerations of religion, geography, ethnicity or politics.The committee was reconstituted following the expiration of the four-year tenure of the former committee in 2009.The Prerogative of Mercy, which is enshrined in the Constitution, allows the President and state governors to grant to a convicted person a state pardon. This pardon can be either conditional or otherwise, or it could be in the form of respite from the execution of punishment imposed, or the substitution of a less severe sanction. The committee, however, assists the president in the exercise of the prerogative of mercy.
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