President Bola Tinubu has pardoned Maryam Sanda, who was convicted of killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, in Abuja.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
The victim was the son of the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Haliru Bello.
Sanda was sentenced to death by hanging by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in January 2020.
She would receive the pardon after spending six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.
In the statement, Onanuga disclosed that Sanda’s family pleaded for her release.
He said, “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.”
According to Onanuga, the gesture was made on the recommendation of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi (SAN).
It also stated that the convicts were considered for clemency based on factors such as remorse, good conduct, old age, and rehabilitation through education or vocational training. Some inmates were recognised for their enrolment in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), while others had demonstrated notable behavioural reform.
Others who received presidential pardons include illegal miners, white-collar convicts, remorseful drug offenders, foreigners, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, capital offenders such as Ken Saro-Wiwa, and the other Ogoni Eight were among the 175 convicts and former convicts.
