Tinubu bows to pressure, revokes Maryam Sanda’s presidential pardon

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has withdrawn the presidential pardon earlier granted to Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.

The reversal followed widespread public outrage, as many Nigerians condemned the decision to pardon Sanda, arguing that extending clemency to someone convicted of such a grave crime undermines confidence in the justice system.

According to an official gazette signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, and made public on Wednesday, the pardon has been nullified.

However, Sanda’s death sentence has been commuted to 12 years imprisonment — a decision the presidency said was taken on compassionate grounds.

The document further revealed that Sanda has already served six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.

Maryam Sanda was convicted by a Federal Capital Territory High Court after being found guilty of fatally stabbing her husband, the late Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute.