The family of the late Bilyaminu Mohammed, who was murdered in 2017 by his wife, Maryam Sanda, has expressed strong opposition to the presidential pardon granted to her by President Bola Tinubu.
The family made their position known in a statement signed by Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, the Dangaladiman Gwandu, on Monday.
Sanda, who was convicted by the FCT High Court for killing her husband, was among 175 inmates granted clemency by President Tinubu under the federal prerogative of mercy on October 11, 2025.
According to the Presidency, the decision followed recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, which cited her “reformation, remorse, and the need to allow her to reunite with her children.”
In the statement titled “When Prerogative of Mercy Inflicts Inexorable Pain,” the family said the decision had reopened deep wounds and questioned the justice of freeing a person convicted of what they described as a “premeditated and cold-blooded murder.”
The family recalled that Sanda was sentenced to death by the FCT High Court on January 27, 2020, for stabbing her husband to death on November 19, 2017. They noted that the conviction and sentence were upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court on December 4, 2020, and October 27, 2023, respectively.
They stated that the family had deliberately avoided public comments since the incident out of respect for the couple’s children and faith in the judicial process, despite what they described as “several sponsored write-ups” from Sanda’s camp.
The statement read: “Although the perpetrator had shown no remorse even for a fleeting moment throughout the saga, the grieving family took solace in the judgements and moved on, having painfully come to terms with the fate that life had thrust upon one of our own.”
They said the decision to release Sanda had undone the closure provided by the court judgments, describing it as “the worst possible injustice any family could be made to go through for a loved one.”
According to the family, the move disregarded the enduring pain suffered by the deceased’s relatives and friends while attempting to “appease Maryam’s family members.”
They also faulted the reason of family appeals used to justify the clemency, stressing that “Bilyaminu was also a cherished family member who was profoundly loved and deeply mourned by his teeming relations, friends and close associates.”
The statement continued: “Maryam, let’s not forget, had earlier on denied the same children now used to elicit sympathy and secure her release, the opportunity to know what a father’s love and care means.”
The family added that they found comfort only in divine justice, noting that “the ultimate comprehensive justice resides purely with the ‘Supreme Judge and our Creator,’ who will dispense the matter on the ‘Day of Recompense.’”
They prayed for the soul of their late son and asked Almighty Allah to grant him eternal rest and guide his children.
