According to a PREMIUM TIMES report, the two indicted officers in the EFCC’s report served in the secretariat of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM). Emmanuel Fan headed the PACPM secretariat, while the other suspect, Lawrence Marinus, was a member of the secretariat. One other yet-to-be verified person, who allegedly paid the bribe on behalf of Mr Atuche, is being tracked by the EFCC, according to the commission’s report.
The 12-member PACPM headed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had recommended 162 convicted persons for pardon and other forms of clemency in a list sent to Mr Buhari and the Council of State on 14 April.
The Council of State approved pardon for 159 of the recommended persons in April. The names of three others were rejected. One of the three rejected names was Mr Atuche, the former Managing Director of Bank PHB, who was, in June 2021, sentenced to six years in prison for stealing the bank’s N27 billion. Mr Atuche was, on the PACPM’s list submitted to the Council of State, “recommended for clemency on the grounds of life-threatening ill health”. But the recommendation was rejected by the Council.
However, Mr Malami, on 6 June, sent a petition to the EFCC alleging that the PACPM’s final report was “doctored/tampered with” to include Mr Atuche’s name.