The family of the late Bilyaminu Bello has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s pardon of his convicted wife, Maryam Sanda, describing it as a grave injustice that reopens old wounds.
The family of the late Bilyaminu Bello has criticised President Bola Tinubu for granting a presidential pardon to Maryam Sanda, who was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering her husband in 2017.
In a statement on Monday, Dr. Bello Mohammed, speaking on behalf of the family, described the decision as “the worst possible injustice any family could be made to go through.” He said the pardon, granted under the President’s Prerogative of Mercy, had “reopened painful wounds that had barely healed.”
“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,” the statement read.
The family recalled that Sanda’s conviction by the FCT High Court in 2020 had been upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
They expressed disappointment that despite the gravity of her crime and lack of remorse, the government extended mercy, allegedly due to family appeals, adding that the decision “dehumanised our son and reduced him to a mere statistic.”