“Where Was He All His Life?” Relative of Late Bilyaminu Criticises Father for Backing Maryam Sanda’s Presidential Pardon

Hafiz Usman, a relative of the late Bilyaminu Bello, has criticised Ahmed Isa Bello, the father of the deceased, for publicly supporting President Bola Tinubu’s decision to grant a presidential pardon to Maryam Sanda, who was convicted of killing Bilyaminu.

At a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Ahmed Bello said he had long advocated clemency for Sanda and had written to former attorney-general Abubakar Malami in 2019 seeking mercy on humanitarian grounds. His remarks came shortly after the wider Bello family issued a statement condemning Sanda’s release, describing it as “the worst possible injustice” to the memory of their slain relative. The family said allowing Sanda to walk free after her conviction was a painful betrayal of justice.

Usman, however, faulted Ahmed Bello’s appearance at the press event, claiming the man had not played any role in Bilyaminu’s life. In a Facebook post, he said that despite being close to Bilyaminu throughout his life, he had never met his biological father until seeing him at the press conference.

Usman described the event as “a bitter pill too hard to swallow” and questioned why the Sanda family would involve someone who, according to him, had been absent from Bilyaminu’s life. He wrote that even during Bilyaminu’s relationship and marriage to Sanda, the family never mentioned his biological father. He added that he had to confirm from other relatives that the man in the video was indeed Bilyaminu’s father, describing his public comments as motivated by “miserable worldly gain.”

Mahmud Jega, a columnist, also noted in a recent article that Bilyaminu was raised by his maternal grandmother and later by his uncle, Haliru Mohammed Bello, a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following his mother’s early death.

Maryam Sanda was among the 175 individuals granted clemency by President Tinubu last Thursday after the National Council of State approved the decision. The presidency said her family had pleaded for her release in the best interest of her two children and that she had demonstrated good conduct while in prison.

Sanda was arrested in November 2017 for stabbing her husband to death over alleged infidelity. In January 2020, a federal capital territory high court found her guilty of murder and sentenced her to death by hanging. Both the court of appeal and the supreme court upheld the conviction.