Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, has been granted a presidential pardon by President Bola Tinubu after spending six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency stated, “Her family pleaded for her release, arguing that it was in the best interest of her two children.
The plea was also anchored on her good conduct in jail, her remorse, and her embracement of a new lifestyle, demonstrating her commitment to being a model prisoner.”
The pardon forms part of President Tinubu’s broader decision to extend clemency to 175 Nigerians and foreigners, including prominent figures such as the late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, Major General Mamman Vatsa, and other members of the “Ogoni Nine.”
“This marked one of the most expansive uses of the presidential prerogative of mercy, touching on high-profile historical cases,” the statement added.
According to the Presidency, the decision was based on recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
Maryam Sanda’s case first attracted nationwide attention when Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court in Abuja found her guilty and sentenced her to death by hanging on January 27, 2020, declaring that she had fatally stabbed her husband at their residence.
“She should reap what she has sown, for it has been said that ‘thou shall not kill’ and whoever kills in cold blood deserves death as his own reward,” Justice Halilu declared at the time.
After her conviction, Sanda’s lawyers filed an appeal on 20 grounds, disputing the evidence and alleging bias, but the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on December 3, 2020, upholding both the conviction and the death sentence.
“The circumstances surrounding the death can be the best proof of what is being alleged,” noted Justice Stephen Adah, supporting the lower court’s ruling.
Police prosecutors later urged the Supreme Court to sustain the sentence. Police counsel James Idachaba said, “We are satisfied with the findings of the trial and appeals court, and we are prepared to defend the law’s position at the Supreme Court,” underscoring the commitment to due process in the case.
The presidential pardon list released on Saturday was classified into six groups: individuals granted pardon, posthumous pardons (including the Ogoni Nine), victims of the Ogoni Nine honoured, those granted clemency, inmates recommended for sentence reduction, and inmates on death row whose punishments were commuted to life imprisonment.
