Maryam Sanda, Convicted of Killing Her Husband, Receives Presidential Pardon from Tinubu

Maryam Sanda, who was convicted and 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 released on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency confirmed that Sanda’s pardon followed pleas from her family, who appealed for her release in the best interest of her two children. The statement added that her good conduct, remorse, and commitment to personal reform were key factors in the President’s decision.

The clemency is part of a broader presidential pardon extended to 175 individuals, including notable posthumous recipients such as the late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, Major General Mamman Vatsa, and other members of the “Ogoni Nine.” The Presidency described this as one of the most comprehensive exercises of presidential mercy in Nigeria’s recent history.

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).

Sanda’s case captured national attention when Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court in Abuja found her guilty of fatally stabbing her husband during a domestic dispute. On January 27, 2020, the judge sentenced her to death by hanging, declaring, “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.”

Her lawyers filed an appeal challenging the conviction on 20 grounds, but the Court of Appeal dismissed it in December 2020, affirming the trial court’s ruling. Justice Stephen Adah noted that “the circumstances surrounding the death can be the best proof of what is being alleged,” reinforcing her guilt.