Tinubu’s Mercy List: Why Maryam Sanda and 85 Other Convicts Got Sentence Reductions — AGF Explains

 President Bola Tinubu has reduced the sentences of 86 prisoners — including convicted murderer Maryam Sanda — after a full review of Nigeria’s presidential pardon list. Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi explains why the decision was made and what it means for the country’s justice system.

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping Presidential Prerogative of Mercy, reducing the sentences of 86 inmates, including Maryam Sanda — once sentenced to death for killing her husband.

Now, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has broken his silence, revealing exactly why the list was reviewed and how the final names were chosen.

“Only Those Who Qualified Benefitted” — AGF Fagbemi

Speaking on Wednesday, Fagbemi said the original list of 175 names was thoroughly vetted to ensure that only convicts who met legal and procedural standards received presidential mercy.

“A few persons earlier recommended were found not to have met the requirements and were accordingly delisted,” he explained.

“In some cases, sentences were reviewed and reduced to reflect fairness, justice, and the spirit of the exercise.”

The AGF emphasized that the review was guided by law, fairness, and due process, not personal influence or emotion.

According to documents obtained by Vanguard, among those who benefitted was Maryam Sanda, the daughter-in-law of a former PDP chairman.

Sanda was convicted in January 2020 after an Abuja High Court found her guilty of stabbing her husband, Bilyamin Bello, to death during a domestic dispute in 2017.

She has since spent six years and eight months in Suleja Prison.

Under the new directive, her death sentence was commuted to 12 years’ imprisonment, reportedly on compassionate grounds — citing good conduct, remorse, a reformed lifestyle, and the best interest of her children.

“Her case was considered based on compassion and reformation,” a source at the Justice Ministry told Daily Post.

The final list also includes several long-serving inmates who have shown remorse and embraced rehabilitation.

• Chukwukelu Sunday Calistus, jailed for drug offences, had his life term reduced to 20 years after serving 11 years.

• Yusuf Owolabi, sentenced in 2015 for manslaughter, will now serve 15 years instead of life.

• Ifeanyi Eze, convicted for a similar offence, also had his term reduced to 15 years.

• Mallam Ibrahim Sulaiman, jailed for armed robbery and firearm possession, will now serve 15 years after spending two.

• Samson Ajayi, sentenced in 2022 to 15 years, now has 10 years left.

• Abubakar Tanko, jailed for culpable homicide, saw his 30-year term reduced to 20 years after seven in custody.

• Nnamdi Anene, serving life for illegal arms dealing since 2010, will now serve 20 years.

Others convicted for lesser crimes — unlawful mining, forgery, fraud, and cannabis possession — also made the mercy list.

Officials said most of the inmates had shown remarkable transformation, completing vocational or educational training while in custody.

Tinubu’s Broader Justice Agenda

In total, the Presidential Mercy Exercise covered 120 cases, including:

• 86 sentence reductions,

•15 full pardons,

• 15 posthumous pardons (including Ken Saro-Wiwa and Herbert Macaulay),

and 4 commutations of death sentences to life imprisonment.