The family of the late Bilyaminu Ahmed Bello has voiced profound sorrow and frustration following the recent presidential pardon granted to Maryam Sanda, who was condemned to death for the 2020 murder of her husband.
In an official declaration signed by Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed (Dangaladiman Gwandu) representing the Bello family, the pardon was condemned as a serious miscarriage of justice and a direct insult to the rule of law, after Sanda’s release under the President’s Prerogative of Mercy.
The family highlighted that the presidential clemency extended to 175 individuals, including those on death row and some who were pardoned posthumously.
Among these, the family emphasized that Sanda’s case stood out painfully, as she was sentenced by the FCT High Court on January 27, 2020, for the deliberate and cold-blooded killing of her husband, their cherished family member, the late Bilyaminu Bello.
“This recent development, occurring only a few years after the tragic act that abruptly ended Bilyaminu’s life, has inevitably reopened our deepest wounds,” the statement read.
“To see Maryam Sanda now free, without any mark of accountability for her brutal crime, as though she had committed a minor offense, represents the gravest injustice a family could endure for a loved one.”
The family felt compelled to issue this statement to restore the humanity of Bilyaminu, who risks being reduced to a mere statistic among countless crime victims nationwide.
They expressed anguish that Sanda’s freedom disregards the profound loss suffered, likening it to treating a grave offense as trivial.
Moreover, the family criticized the pardon’s justification, noting that Sanda had already deprived her children of their father’s love and care, and questioned the ethical grounds for invoking the children’s welfare to support her release.
The statement further labeled the pardon as an example of “selective mercy,” suggesting the government’s action seemed designed to placate Sanda’s relatives while neglecting the ongoing pain experienced by the victim’s family, friends, and community.
Despite their grief, the Bello family affirmed their faith in divine justice, trusting that ultimate judgment rests with God.
They concluded with prayers for Bilyaminu’s eternal peace and for the strength to endure the sorrow of his loss amid these challenging circumstances.
