The family of former Peoples Democratic Party’s National Chairman, Haliu Bello, has kicked against President Bola Tinubu’s pardon of Maryam Sanda, wife of late son, Bilyaminu Bello.
NPO Reported that Sanda had last week made the list of 175 convicts granted clemency and pardon by President Bola Tinubu.
Sanda was on the 27th of January 2020 sentenced to death over murder of Bilyaminu who died from the multiple stabs from his wife in an incident which occurred on the 19th of November 2017.
Her family had reportedly requested her release, asserting that it would greatly benefit her two children.
They based their appeal on her exemplary behavior while incarcerated, her expression of remorse, and her adoption of a new way of living.
However, Sanda’s release after six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre had however sparked controversies.
In the wake of her release, the family of the late Bilyaminu, as disclosed in a post shared on X on Tuesday, condemned the presidential pardon granted to Sanda.
The family, in a statement issued on Monday and signed by Haliu, the ex-PDP National Chairman, reportedly described the clemency as an act that “inflicts inexorable pain” and reopens old wounds that had barely begun to heal.
They said the recent development had forced them to speak publicly after choosing to keep mum over the years out of respect for due process and the welfare of the two children of the deceased.
The family expressed shock and dismay that Sanda was among the 175 persons recently granted presidential pardon under the Prerogative of Mercy.
“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,” the statement read in part.
They held that Sanda’s clemency was motivated by appeals from her family while disregarding the grief and pain of the victim’s relatives, friends, and associates.
The family emphasised that Bilyaminu was not just another anonymous victim of crime but a cherished family member whose death left an indelible void.
They refuted claim of Sanda showing remorse during her time in prison as they held that she was never remorseful throughout her trial.
“We interpret this pardon as an attempt to appease one family at the expense of another’s unending pain,” the family said.
Sanda’s release, they held, undermines public confidence in the justice system.
