President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted a presidential pardon to Maryam Sanda, the woman convicted in 2020 for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, son of former PDP National Chairman, Haliru Bello.
Sanda, who had spent more than six years behind bars, was among 175 inmates and former convicts who received clemency under the President’s exercise of prerogative of mercy, announced by Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday evening.
According to Onanuga, the decision followed careful consideration of reports indicating that many of the beneficiaries had demonstrated genuine remorse, good conduct, and efforts at personal reform while in custody.
“Some of those pardoned were released on the grounds of old age, health challenges, or proven rehabilitation through vocational skills and higher education, including enrolment in the National Open University of Nigeria,” Onanuga stated.
He added that the President’s action also sought to correct historical injustices, extending mercy posthumously to notable figures such as Major General Mamman Vatsa, Professor Magaji Garba, Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Ogoni Eight, and Sir Herbert Macaulay, Nigeria’s pioneer nationalist.
Maryam Sanda’s case drew national attention in 2017 when she was arrested for fatally stabbing her husband during a domestic dispute in Abuja. In January 2020, the Federal High Court sentenced her to death by hanging—a verdict upheld by the Court of Appeal.
Her inclusion on the presidential pardon list marks a dramatic turn in one of Nigeria’s most controversial criminal cases of the past decade.
Observers say the move underscores President Tinubu’s attempt to balance justice with compassion, while igniting renewed debate over the scope of executive clemency in Nigeria’s justice system.
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