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President Tinubu has granted clemency to Maryam Sanda who was convicted of killing her husband in 2017.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that President Bola Tinubu has granted state clemency to Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute in Abuja.
The announcement was made on Saturday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who revealed that the pardon followed appeals from Sanda’s family and official reports highlighting her good conduct and remorse while in custody.
Now 37 years old, Sanda had served six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre before her release. Her family had long argued that freeing her was necessary for the well-being of her two young children.
Sanda was convicted by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court for culpable homicide, after finding her guilty of fatally stabbing Bello, the son of former PDP chairman Haliru Bello, during a heated altercation in 2017. The court ruled that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, sentencing her to death by hanging.
Her trial gripped national attention for years, featuring emotional courtroom scenes, delayed hearings, and several failed appeals. Throughout the proceedings, Sanda maintained that the incident was not premeditated but occurred during a domestic quarrel gone wrong.
According to Onanuga, Sanda was among 175 convicts granted clemency or sentence reduction by the President. The list also included illegal miners, drug offenders, white-collar criminals, and elderly inmates.
“President Tinubu granted clemency to most of them based on remorse, good behavior, and evidence of rehabilitation, while others were pardoned due to age or health conditions,” Onanuga said.
Sanda’s release is being described as one of the most high-profile acts of presidential clemency in recent Nigerian history, reopening national conversations about justice, forgiveness, and rehabilitation.
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