President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved clemency for Mrs. Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in January 2020 for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, the son of former PDP National Chairman, Haliru Bello.
Sanda, who was arrested in November 2017, had been in custody for over six years before receiving the presidential pardon. Her name was among 175 individuals who benefited from Tinubu’s amnesty programme, announced on Saturday evening by Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga.
“Illegal miners, white collar criminals, repentant drug offenders, foreigners, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, and capital offenders such as Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the other Ogoni Eight were among those granted mercy by the President,” Onanuga said.
He explained that the President’s decision followed recommendations indicating that several inmates had shown genuine remorse, acquired new skills, or pursued education through programmes like the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
Onanuga further revealed that Tinubu’s gesture went beyond current inmates, as it also aimed to correct past injustices, including a posthumous pardon for Sir Herbert Macaulay, one of Nigeria’s founding fathers.
