The family of the late Bilyaminu Bello has expressed outrage over President Bola Tinubu’s decision to grant presidential pardon to Maryam Sanda, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of her husband in 2020.
In a strongly worded statement signed by Dr. Bello Mohammed on behalf of the family, the Bellos described the pardon as “a grave miscarriage of justice and the worst possible cruelty any bereaved family could be forced to endure.”
They said President Tinubu’s decision to include Sanda among the 175 inmates recently freed under the Prerogative of Mercy had reopened deep emotional wounds that the family had struggled for years to heal.
“To have Maryam Sanda walk the face of the earth again, free from any blemish for her heinous crime as if she had merely squashed an ant, is the worst possible injustice any family could be made to go through,” the statement read.
The family recalled that Sanda was convicted by the FCT High Court on January 27, 2020, for the “premeditated and cold-blooded murder” of her husband, and that her conviction was subsequently upheld by both the Court of Appeal on December 4, 2020, and the Supreme Court on October 27, 2023.
According to the family, the judicial process had brought them a measure of closure, despite the trauma of losing Bilyaminu.
“Although the perpetrator showed no remorse even for a fleeting moment, we took solace in the fact that justice was served. But this latest decision by the President has reopened our wounds and trampled upon that fragile peace,” the family said.
They accused the Federal Government of prioritising political appeasement over justice, claiming the pardon was motivated by lobbying from Sanda’s relatives rather than genuine humanitarian grounds.
“We interpret this decision as a calculated act to appease Maryam’s family members by extending mercy to a convicted murderer while ignoring the deep, lingering pain inflicted on the victim’s family, friends, and associates,” the statement continued.
The family further lamented that the pardon had **undermined the integrity of Nigeria’s judiciary**, describing it as “an insult to the memory of a young man whose life was brutally cut short.”
“This action dehumanises our son, reducing him to a mere statistic in the endless cycle of violence and impunity that has plagued our nation,” they said.
The Bellos also rejected the argument that Sanda’s children should be spared the trauma of growing up without their mother, insisting that it was her own actions that deprived them of their father’s love and presence.
“The same children now used to elicit sympathy were denied the joy of knowing a father’s love because of her deliberate and cruel act,” the statement added.
The family expressed deep disappointment in the government’s decision but said they were leaving ultimate justice to God.
“We take solace in the knowledge that there is a higher court — that of the Almighty — where justice is never compromised. The final verdict belongs to the Supreme Judge, who will dispense true justice on the Day of Recompense,” the family concluded.
President **Tinubu** last week approved the release of 175 inmates across Nigeria under the **Prerogative of Mercy policy**, citing humanitarian grounds and recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy.
Among those freed was Maryam Sanda, who was convicted for stabbing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, to death at their Abuja residence on November 19, 2017.
Her release has since sparked widespread public backlash, with rights advocates and legal experts questioning the moral and legal implications of granting clemency to a convicted murderer whose sentence had been affirmed by the nation’s highest court.
