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.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. According to the Presidency, Sanda’s family appealed for her release, citing the welfare of her two children, her remorse, and her exemplary conduct in prison.
The statement read: “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.”
Sanda’s pardon is part of a broader presidential clemency exercise that saw President Tinubu extend mercy to 175 Nigerians and foreigners. Among those pardoned were 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 followed 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 national attention when Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja found her guilty of stabbing her husband to death and sentenced her to death by hanging on 27 January 2020.
At the time, Justice Halilu stated, “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.”
Following the conviction, Sanda’s legal team filed an appeal on 20 grounds, challenging the evidence presented and alleging judicial bias. However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on 3 December 2020, upholding both the conviction and the sentence.
Justice Stephen Adah, in affirming the ruling, stated that “the circumstances surrounding the death can be the best proof of what is being alleged.”
The police later urged the Supreme Court to uphold the lower courts’ decisions. 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,” stressing the commitment to justice.
The full presidential pardon list, released on Saturday, was divided into six categories: individuals granted pardons, posthumous pardons (including members of the Ogoni Nine), victims honoured, clemency recipients, inmates recommended for reduced sentences, and death row inmates whose sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.
President Tinubu’s decision represents one of the most far-reaching exercises of executive clemency in Nigeria’s recent history, blending humanitarian considerations with historical redress.