The family of the late Bilyaminu Ahmed Bello has accused President Bola Tinubu of inflicting “inexorable pain” on them following the recent pardon granted to the late Bilyaminu’s widow, Maryam Sanda, who was on death row for her conviction for murder.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/idrinstitute.png")
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had, on January 27, 2020, convicted and sentenced Maryam Sanda to death for the murder of her husband.
Both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, in separate judgments delivered on December 4, 2020, and October 27, 2023, upheld the death sentence.
Bilyaminu was reported to have been killed on November 19, 2017, by his wife, Maryam Sanda, during a quarrel.
According to Bilyaminu’s family, the court verdict “provided some closure of sorts in the circumstances, if ever there could be one.”
However, the family stated that President Tinubu’s action has reopened fresh wounds when they were yet to fully heal from the pain caused by the murder of their son.
President Tinubu, shortly after a meeting of the Council of State, announced the granting of pardons to 175 convicted persons serving jail sentences for various criminal offences.
Some of those on the list included individuals on death row and others who were pardoned posthumously.
Reacting to the pardon granted to the widow of their late son, the family described the president’s action as the worst possible injustice any family could be made to endure for a loved one.
“One name that stood out for us as a family is that of Maryam Sanda, a lady convicted and sentenced to death by the FCT High Court on January 27, 2020, for the premeditated and cold-blooded murder of her husband and beloved family member, the late Bilyaminu Ahmed Bello,” Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, the Dangaladiman Gwandu, said in a statement issued on behalf of the late Bilyaminu Ahmed Bello’s family.
The family disclosed that because of the delicately sensitive nature of the situation involving the two innocent children of the deceased, they deliberately refrained from making any public statements or comments, despite several sponsored write-ups from the accused perpetrator’s camp containing falsehoods against the deceased, without considering the children’s best interests.
“We instead placed our trust and abiding confidence in the nation’s judicial process to run its full course and deliver justice for the deceased and his family,” they said.
“This latest turn of events, coming just a few years after the dastardly crime that cruelly cut short Bilyaminu’s life, has, however, expectedly reopened our healing wounds.
“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 endure for a loved one,” they added.
According to the family, they are compelled to issue this formal statement to humanize Bilyaminu, “who is now suddenly being made to appear as if he is just another faceless, anonymous individual in the long line of victims of crimes in the country: a mere statistical figure.”
While they claimed that the alleged grounds for Maryam Sanda’s release were predicated on appeals from her family, among other considerations, they stressed that Bilyaminu was also their cherished family member who was profoundly loved and deeply mourned by his relations, friends, and close associates following his gruesome murder eight years ago.
“Bilyaminu’s family is deeply hurt by this latest development, which we interpret as primarily driven by the sole motivation to appease Maryam’s family members by extending mercy to a certified convicted murderer, while at the same time overlooking or conveniently ignoring the corresponding inexorable pain inflicted on the victim’s grieving family, friends, and associates.
“We take solace in the simple fact that in such matters, ultimate comprehensive justice resides purely with the Supreme Judge and our Creator, who will dispense justice on the Day of Recompense, where no one can intercede on behalf of anyone else.
“We beseech Almighty Allah SWT to grant the soul of our dear Bilyaminu eternal rest and grant us the fortitude to continue to bear his loss even in light of this latest development. May Allah also be there for his children at every turn, raise them to be good, obedient Muslims, and patriotic Nigerians. Ameen,” the statement added.
The publishing firm has produced an impressive catalogue of authoritative legal texts authored by its proprietor, Basil Momodu, Esq.,
For inquiries, contact:
📧 momodulawpublishing@yahoo.com
📞 07051822705
______________________________________________________________________
“Timely And Groundbreaking” — Babalola, Nnawuchi Release Casebook On Privacy & Data Protection In Nigeria
A timely new publication, Casebook on Privacy & Data Protection in Nigeria, co-authored by Olumide Babalola and Uchenna Nnawuchi,📘Casebook on Privacy & Data Protection in Nigeria is now available on Amazon:https://a.co/d/8TmFZrd
______________________________________________________________________
Alexander Payne Co. Law Reports
Contact & Orders 📞 0704 444 4777 | 0704 444 4999 | 0818 199 9888 🌐 www.alexandernigeria.com
______________________________________________________________________ Groundbreaking Guide For Lawyers: Adigwe Publishes ‘Artificial Intelligence For Lawyers’ With Free Research eBook
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACiarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
How to Order:
📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878
📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com
🌎 Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access it directly online at https://selar.com/prv626
______________________________________________________________________
[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
