“Before we talk of amnesty, there should be clear evidence that there’s a sincere repentance” – Former Catholic archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese, John Onaiyekan

Former Catholic archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese, John Onaiyekan has stated that amnesty should only be granted when there is a clear and true evidence of repentance.

Speaking on a Channels Television program on Wednesday February 24, he noted that, though he believes that criminals should be forgiven when they repent, he also advised that the state should make sure the act of repentance is not a joke.

According to him, for the sake of law and order, armed bandits should be disarmed and put on a leash adding that amnesty should only be considered when there is sincere repentance and readiness to not return to arms.

The former archbishop said; “I believe firmly in what the Bible says that it is not the will of God that a sinner should die but that he should repent and live. So obviously, if a criminal sincerely repents, he should be forgiven. But the question is when it comes to the real facts of whether he has repented or not, the state must have a way of making sure that this is not a joke.

“The whole idea of amnesty is not only to be applied to armed bandits, in that case it is true for everybody in jail in Nigeria. For the sake of law and order, to protect the rest of us, the few who are making life difficult have to be restrained. The armed dogs should be tied down. The armed bandits should be disarmed.

“Before we talk of amnesty, there should be clear evidence that there’s a sincere repentance and that the people concerned have decided not to pick up arms anymore, that they’re ready to go back to their normal way of life and if they’re foreigners, they’re ready to go back home. All this must be part and parcel of the process of amnesty.

“The bandits must be reconciled with society, they must change, they must decide to be really repentant and show it clearly. And not be put in a position to brag around to appear that they have actually won, and defeated the nation.”

“I don’t think we should reach a stage where the nation simply says we’re unable to deal with the situation. We should be able to deal with it and on one hand, we must be open to amnesty, forgiveness, and on the other hand, we need to keep law and order and not make it an incentive for others to pick up arms and wait for amnesty and rehabilitation.