The family of the late Bilyaminu Bello has strongly criticised the presidential pardon granted to Maryam Sanda, describing it as a painful act of injustice that has reopened deep emotional wounds.
In a statement issued on Monday, October 13, the family expressed outrage over President Bola Tinubu’s decision to include Sanda among the 175 inmates recently pardoned under the Prerogative of Mercy, saying it dishonoured the memory of their son and mocked the justice system.
“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 family stated.
Sanda was convicted by the FCT High Court on January 27, 2020, for killing her husband in what the court described as a premeditated act.
The conviction was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal in December 2020 and the Supreme Court in October 2023.
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The family recalled that those rulings had brought them a measure of closure, even though Sanda had shown no remorse during the trial or afterwards.
“Satisfied that justice had finally been served, the judgment provided some closure of sorts in the circumstance, if ever there could be one.
“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,” the statement continued.
They said Tinubu’s decision had not only revived old pain but also cast a shadow over the sanctity of justice.
“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,” the family said.