President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted presidential pardon to Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
Sanda, 37, was among 175 inmates who benefited from the president’s clemency following recommendations by the National Council of State, which met on Thursday in Abuja.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Sanda’s pardon was approved based on several factors, including her good conduct while in custody, her remorse, and her family’s plea that her release was in the best interest of her two children.
Sanda had spent six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre before the presidential clemency was granted.
She was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court after being found guilty of stabbing her husband, the late Bilyaminu Bello, son of former PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Haliru Bello, during a domestic dispute in 2017.
The case, which drew national attention, was marked by emotional courtroom scenes as Sanda wept uncontrollably when the judgment was delivered.
Her trial lasted nearly three years due to repeated adjournments and procedural delays. Despite maintaining her innocence throughout the proceedings, the court found her guilty of culpable homicide.
With Thursday’s decision, Maryam Sanda’s death sentence has been commuted, marking the end of one of Nigeria’s most widely followed criminal cases in recent years.