The family of the late Bilyaminu Bello has expressed outrage over the presidential pardon granted to his convicted wife, Maryam Sanda.
They describes the decision as the worst form of injustice any grieving family could endure.
Maryam Sanda was convicted for stabbing her husband to death at their Abuja residence on November 19, 2017.
Also, she was sentenced to d3ath by hanging by the FCT High Court on January 27, 2020.
However, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently approved the release of 175 inmates, including Sanda, under the Prerogative of Mercy policy
Also, this is a constitutional power that allows the President to grant clemency on humanitarian grounds.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, October 13, Dr Bello Mohammed, speaking on behalf of the family, said the pardon had reopened deep emotional wounds that had barely begun 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 for a loved one,” the statement read.
The family emphasised that Sanda showed no remorse throughout the trial process, despite being convicted for a premeditated and cold-blooded murder.
They recalled that her conviction was upheld by both the Court of Appeal on December 4, 2020, and later by the Supreme Court on October 27, 2023, which had offered them a sense of closure and justice.
“Satisfied that justice had finally been served, the judgment provided some closure of sorts. Although the perpetrator showed no remorse, the grieving family took solace in the court’s decision and moved on, having painfully come to terms with the tragedy,” the statement continued.
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The Bello family expressed disappointment and disbelief that despite the severity of Sanda’s crime and the painstaking judicial process, the Federal Government still decided to extend presidential clemency to her.
