Breaking News: Maryam Sanda Loses Presidential Pardon, to Serve Six Years

By Wellington Jopelo 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has withdrawn the presidential pardon earlier granted to Maryam Sanda, who was convicted of killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, in 2020. Sanda had originally been sentenced to death for the crime.

The reversal was announced on Wednesday in an official government gazette released by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. The move comes after widespread public criticism over the pardon.

With the new decision, Sanda’s death sentence has now been converted to a 12-year prison term. She has already spent six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.

The decision was made on compassionate grounds, taking into account her good conduct in prison and the welfare of her children. Sanda was described as a model inmate who has shown remorse, and she will now serve the remaining years of her sentence.

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