President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reversed the presidential pardon earlier granted to Maryam Sanda, who was convicted of killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, in Abuja.
According to an official gazette released on Wednesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Sanda’s death sentence has been reduced to 12 years imprisonment instead.
The document stated that the decision was made “on compassionate grounds, in the best interest of her children, and in recognition of her good conduct, remorse, and reformation in custody.”
Sanda, who has spent six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre, was initially included in the list of 175 persons granted clemency by the President earlier in October.
The Presidency had said her family pleaded for her release, citing her “model behaviour” and “commitment to rehabilitation.” However, the latest gazette clarified that Sanda was not among those whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment, as earlier reported.
“In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)… I, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, hereby commute the death sentences of the following persons to life imprisonment…” the gazette stated, listing other convicts but excluding Sanda.
The reversal comes amid widespread public criticism of the earlier clemency list, which included individuals convicted of serious offences such as drug trafficking and fraud.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had condemned the initial pardon, saying it “erodes the moral authority of leadership and emboldens lawlessness.”
Meanwhile, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice clarified that no inmate approved for clemency had yet been released, pending final administrative reviews to ensure compliance with legal and procedural requirements.
