President Bola Tinubu's recent presidential pardon granted to Maryam Sanda, who was convicted of murdering her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, in 2017, has ignited a fierce national debate and reopened deep emotional wounds for the victim's family. Sanda, who had spent nearly seven years in custody, including being sentenced to death by hanging in January 2020, was among 175 inmates granted clemency under the federal prerogative of mercy, a decision that has drawn widespread criticism and mixed reactions.

The tragic incident occurred on November 19, 2017, in Abuja, where Sanda was found to have stabbed Bilyaminu Bello during a domestic dispute. Accounts from the trial indicated that an argument escalated violently, with the prosecution alleging Sanda attacked Bello with a broken bottle, causing fatal injuries. While Sanda claimed his death was accidental, asserting he fell on a broken shisha pot, both the Federal Capital Territory High Court and subsequently the Court of Appeal (in December 2020) and the Supreme Court (in October 2023) upheld her conviction for culpable homicide and the death sentence, ruling that evidence established intent to kill.

The Presidency's rationale for Sanda's release, which occurred on October 11, 2025 (or recently, as per other texts) and came six years and eight months after her arrest, was based on recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga cited her reformation, remorse, and the need to allow her to reunite with her two young children as primary considerations. Additionally, pleas from her family were acknowledged as influencing the decision. The clemency list included individuals on death row, drug offenders, illegal miners, and white-collar convicts, some of whom received full pardons or commuted sentences.

However, Bilyaminu Bello's broader family has vehemently kicked against the pardon, expressing