'No Let Anyone Kill You!', Netizens React As Maryam Sanda, Influential Lady Who Stabbed Her Husband To Death Gets Presidential Pardon

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

A new street maxim and online thread coined in pidgin English has surfaced across the social media landscape in Nigeria following the discovery that an influential lady who stabbed her husband to death has received Presidential Pardon, Maryam Sanda is among those who got freedom.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that the influential Abuja lady, Maryam Sanda, emerged among the notable beneficiaries of the pardon.

Maryam Sanda, OTN News recalls, was sentenced to death in 2020 for stabbing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, son of a former PDP National Chairman, to death.

The full list released by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and strategy, as the Presidential spokesperson maintained that Tinubu approved her release based on good conduct, remorse, and her embrace of a new lifestyle while in custody.

The statement further explained that her family had also pleaded for mercy, citing the welfare of her two young children.

Sandra is the daughter of an influential Abuja based business woman, Maimuna Aliyu, who was a former Executive Director of Aso Savings and Loans Plc.

Maimuna was nominated in 2017 for appointment into the Board of Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission but was later dropped for separate corruption-related allegations. 

The statement describes the development as a move to promote rehabilitation and reintegration, the President also granted clemency to 80 convicted illegal miners, most of whom were sentenced in 2024 to three years’ imprisonment.

Their release was tied to an undertaking signed by Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis, who pledged to take responsibility for their rehabilitation and empowerment.

The list further included drug offenders, elderly inmates, and individuals convicted of financial crimes, who either showed remorse, learned vocational skills, or suffered ill health and advanced age.

Onanuga said the clemency exercise was guided by justice, compassion, and fairness and aimed to decongest prisons while rewarding good behaviour among inmates.

“President Tinubu acted on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee after careful consideration of each case. The exercise demonstrates his commitment to a humane justice system that allows genuine reformation,” Onanuga said.

Sanda, 37, was sentenced to death for culpable homicide and had spent six years and eight months at Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.

However, in swift reactions to the development, many Nigerian netizens have taken to the various social media platforms to highlight and emphasize the importance of self-preservation, especially in the face of domestic violence.

Other opinions and sentiments shared by a cross section of netizens observe that anyone who allows himself or herself to be mindlessly killed by any spouse would be the ultimate loser in life as such a spouse may end up either getting away with the crime outrightly or getting similar pardon too.