Maryam Sanda, sentenced to death in 2020 for the killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, has received a Presidential Pardon from President Bola Tinubu after spending six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.
In a statement released today by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said, her family pleaded for her release in the best interest of her two children.
Mr Onanuga said the plea is 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.
The pardon is part of a larger decision by President Tinubu to grant clemency to 175 Nigerians and foreigners, including notable figures such as the late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, Major General Mamman Vatsa, and other members of the Ogoni Nine.
According to him, this marked one of the most expansive uses of the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy, touching on high-profile historical cases.
The Presidency noted that 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).
It would be recalled that Maryam Sanda’s case first gained public attention when Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court in Abuja convicted and sentenced her to death by hanging on January 27, 2020, ruling that she had fatally stabbed her husband at their home.
