{"id":123393,"date":"2025-10-29T21:06:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=123393"},"modified":"2025-10-29T21:06:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:06:16","slug":"presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/","title":{"rendered":"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"m#msg-f:1847334277361941934\" class=\"mail-message expanded\">\n<div id=\"m#msg-f:1847334277361941934-header\" class=\"mail-message-header spacer\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div id=\"m#msg-f:1847334277361941934-content\" class=\"mail-message-content collapsible zoom-normal mail-show-images \">\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Federal Government has removed convicted husband killer, Maryam Sanda, from the revised list of beneficiaries of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu\u2019s presidential pardon, following a review triggered by widespread public backlash.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sanda was in January 2020 sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, son of a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Haliru Bello.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Her conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2022, leading to her continued incarceration at the correctional center.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The initial announcement of the clemency list sparked outrage across the country, with many Nigerians describing it as a grave injustice to victims of violent crimes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Public reactions were sharply divided, with only a few voices applauding the President for the gesture.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Among the names that infuriated Nigerians most was that of Sanda, prompting calls for the list to be reviewed.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even within the family of the slain husband, sharp disagreement ensued. A faction led by Bilyaminu\u2019s foster father, former PDP chairman Haliru Bello, condemned the move as insensitive to the pain caused by what they described as the brutal murder of their son.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0He insisted that releasing Sanda would reopen deep emotional wounds the family was still struggling to heal.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, Bilyaminu\u2019s biological father publicly expressed support for the President.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0In a press conference, he said the families had long reconciled and even appealed to former President Muhammadu Buhari to grant her clemency for the sake of her young children.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He praised President Tinubu for considering their plea.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0The conflicting positions exposed cracks within the Bello family over how justice should ultimately be served.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following the backlash, the Presidency says it has reviewed the list in consultation with the Council of State and directed the removal of individuals convicted of serious crimes including murder, kidnapping, unlawful possession of firearms, drug-related offences, human trafficking and large-scale fraud.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though Sanda has now lost her spot on the pardon list, the government confirmed that her death sentence has been formally commuted to 12 years imprisonment, a decision authorities say aligns with ongoing correctional reforms and humanitarian considerations.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The development, while easing some public tension, is expected to trigger further debate.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Many Nigerians would likely argue that only the original death sentence, endorsed by the Supreme Court, would serve full justice.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Others, would welcome the reduction, and would note that it is a better outcome than a full pardon that could have seen her walk free this year.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The revised list has been forwarded to the Nigerian Correctional Service for immediate implementation, as the Tinubu administration reiterates its commitment to ensuring that executive powers of mercy are not applied at the expense of justice and public confidence in the legal system.<\/div>\n<div id=\"m_2760316514380404316ymail_android_signature\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo The Federal Government has removed convicted husband killer, Maryam Sanda, from the revised list of beneficiaries of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu\u2019s presidential pardon, following a review triggered&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":123395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Oscar Okhifo The Federal Government has removed convicted husband killer, Maryam Sanda, from the revised list of beneficiaries of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu\u2019s presidential pardon, following a review triggered&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-29T20:06:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"286\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"176\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-29T20:06:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/\"},\"wordCount\":463,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/\",\"name\":\"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-29T20:06:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg\",\"width\":286,\"height\":176},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda - Pointblank News","og_description":"By Oscar Okhifo The Federal Government has removed convicted husband killer, Maryam Sanda, from the revised list of beneficiaries of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu\u2019s presidential pardon, following a review triggered&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2025-10-29T20:06:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":286,"height":176,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda","datePublished":"2025-10-29T20:06:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/"},"wordCount":463,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/","name":"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-10-29T20:06:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/images-2025-10-29T210507.383.jpeg","width":286,"height":176},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/presidency-revises-clemency-list-removes-convicted-murderer-maryam-sanda\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Presidency Revises Clemency List, Removes Convicted Murderer Maryam Sanda"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123393"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123396,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123393\/revisions\/123396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}