A combined photo of President Bola Tinubu and Maryam Sanda
By Toyin WilliamsÂ
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commuted the death sentence of Maryam Sanda, who was convicted in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, to 12 years imprisonment.
The decision was announced on Wednesday through a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. According to the statement, the clemency was granted on compassionate grounds after due consideration by the Council of State and upon the recommendation of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy.
Onanuga said the President’s decision was influenced by Sanda’s good conduct in custody, her apparent reformation, and the need to ensure the welfare of her young children.
Sanda was sentenced to death by hanging by an Abuja High Court in January 2020 after being found guilty of stabbing her husband, the late Bilyaminu Bello, son of former PDP National Chairman Haliru Bello, during a domestic dispute in 2017. She has since been serving her sentence at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.
By the new directive, Sanda’s death sentence has been reduced to a 12-year prison term, meaning her incarceration will now be counted from the date of her initial detention.
