President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has granted a presidential pardon to Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, after spending six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.

In a statement released on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said Sanda’s release followed a plea from her family, which argued that the pardon would serve the best interest of her two young children.

According to the statement, the plea was supported by reports of her good conduct in prison, remorse for her actions, and her embrace of a reformed lifestyle, which reportedly made her a model inmate.

“Her family pleaded for her release, arguing that it was in the best interest of her two children. The plea was 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,” Onanuga said.

The presidency noted that Sanda’s pardon was part of a larger presidential clemency exercise in which 175 Nigerians and foreigners benefited. The exercise also included posthumous pardons for prominent figures such as the late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, Major General Mamman Vatsa, and other members of the “Ogoni Nine.”

 “This marked one of the most expansive uses of the presidential prerogative of mercy, touching on high-profile historical cases,” the statement added.

The decision, the presidency explained, was based on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).

Sanda gained public attention after her conviction by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, who found her guilty of stabbing her husband to death during a domestic dispute.

Delivering the judgment on January 27, 2020, Justice Halilu said: “She should reap what she has sown, for it has been said that ‘thou shall not kill,’ and whoever kills in cold blood deserves death as his own reward.”

Her legal team later filed an appeal on 20 grounds, questioning the trial court’s findings and alleging bias. However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on December 3, 2020, and affirmed both the conviction and death sentence.

The Police had expressed satisfaction with the ruling and vowed to defend the judgment at the Supreme Court before the presidential pardon intervened.

While the Presidency described the move as a compassionate and corrective gesture, legal and human rights analysts say the decision could provoke diverse public opinions, especially given the gravity of the offence and the symbolic nature of the case.