President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted a presidential pardon to Maryam Sanda, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, son of former PDP National Chairman, Haliru Bello.
Sanda, who spent nearly seven years at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre, was among 175 inmates granted clemency as part of the President’s broader effort to promote justice tempered with compassion.
According to a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the decision followed a recommendation from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi (SAN).
The Presidency revealed that Sanda’s family had submitted a petition for her release, citing the need to reunite her with her two children.
The committee also considered her remorse, good conduct, and participation in rehabilitation programs while in custody. Reports from prison authorities described Sanda as reformed, having engaged in educational and vocational training.
Maryam Sanda was sentenced to death by hanging in January 2020 by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, following her conviction for fatally stabbing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute in 2017.
Her appeals to overturn the conviction were dismissed by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, leaving her on death row until the presidential pardon was granted.
Sanda’s name appeared on a broad list of beneficiaries, which included former military officers, activists, and political prisoners, such as Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, and members of the Ogoni Eight, including Ken Saro-Wiwa.
The presidential pardon also extended to white-collar offenders, foreign nationals, and rehabilitated drug convicts, as part of efforts to decongest prisons and promote reintegration of reformed inmates into society.
With her release, Maryam Sanda is expected to return to civilian life under close monitoring, marking one of Nigeria’s most talked-about cases of presidential mercy in recent years.
