Alamieyeseigha’s Pardon Sparks Diplomatic Row As Nigeria Summons US Official Over Tweets

Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken exception to the tweets published by the U.S. Embassy in Abuja Friday morning and has summoned the Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy to protest the tweet credited to its spokeswoman, Deb MacLean.
Information Nigeria reports that the first tweet said the U.S. was “deeply disappointed” over the pardon issued this week to former Bayelsa state Gov. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. While the second tweet from the embassy simply said: “We see this as a setback in the fight against corruption.”
However, in a statement, the ministry said it conveyed the protest via a diplomatic note, in which it “strongly condemned the comment from the US Embassy in Abuja, which it described as undue interference and meddlesomeness in the internal affairs of Nigeria.”

The statement added that it “was not the first time a government in Nigeria or elsewhere would grant state pardon to individuals who have committed one crime or the other.”
The ministry further stressed that “the pardon granted is entirely consistent with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.”
The ministry said it hoped “that the Embassy of the United States of America would henceforth desist from making unwarranted comments on Nigeria’s internal affairs which are capable of undermining the friendly relations that exist between them.”....source by karinagk.blogspot