The family of the late Bilyaminu Bello has strongly condemned the presidential pardon granted to his wife, Maryam Sanda, describing it as “the worst possible injustice any family could be made to go through.”
In a statement issued on Monday, Bello Mohammed, speaking on behalf of the family, said President Bola Tinubu’s decision to include Sanda among the 175 inmates recently pardoned under the 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 any family could be made to go through for a loved one,” the statement read in part.
Sanda was convicted by the FCT High Court on January 27, 2020, for the premeditated murder of her husband. The verdict was upheld by the Court of Appeal on December 4, 2020, and later affirmed by the Supreme Court on October 27, 2023.
The family said the court’s decision had offered some sense of closure after years of grief.
“Satisfied that justice had finally been served, the judgment provided some closure of sorts in the circumstance, if ever there could be one,” the statement continued.
“Although the perpetrator had shown no remorse, even for a fleeting moment throughout the saga, the grieving family took solace in the judgments and moved on, having painfully come to terms with the fate that life had thrust upon one of our own.
This latest turn of events, coming just a few years after the dastardly crime that cruelly cut short Bilyaminu’s life, has, however, expectedly reopened our healing wounds.”
Expressing deep disappointment, the family accused the Federal Government of disregarding the judicial process and the feelings of the victim’s loved ones by extending clemency to Sanda, allegedly following appeals from her family.
“We interpret this decision as primarily driven by the sole motivation for appeasing Maryam’s family members by way of extending mercy to a certified convicted murderer,” the family said.
“At the same time, it conveniently ignored the corresponding inexorable pain that has now been inflicted on the victim’s grieving family, friends and associates.”
They added that the pardon had “dehumanised” Bilyaminu and reduced him to a mere statistic.
“We are compelled to issue this formal statement to humanise Bilyaminu, who is now suddenly being made to appear as if he is just another faceless anonymous individual in the long line of victims of crimes in the country,” the statement noted.
The family also faulted the grounds on which Sanda’s release was reportedly secured, arguing that she deprived her own children of their father’s love and care.
“The alleged grounds for Maryam Sanda’s release were predicated on appeals from her family, amongst other considerations,” they said.
“It is pertinent to stress that Bilyaminu was also our cherished family member who was profoundly loved and deeply mourned. Maryam, let’s not forget, had earlier denied the same children now used to elicit sympathy and secure her release the opportunity to know what a father’s love and care mean.”
The family said it remains deeply hurt by the presidential pardon but takes comfort in divine justice.
“We take solace in the simple fact that in such matters, the ultimate comprehensive justice resides purely with the Supreme Judge and our Creator, who will dispense this matter on the Day of Recompense,” the statement concluded.
President Bola Tinubu last week approved the release of 175 inmates across the country under the Prerogative of Mercy policy, which allows the president to grant clemency on humanitarian grounds.
Sanda, who was among those pardoned, was convicted in 2020 for stabbing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, to death at their Abuja home on November 19, 2017.