President Bola Tinubu has revisited the recent state pardon granted to the husband killer, Maryam Sanda, and 174 other convicted murderers, drug traffickers, kidnappers and fraudsters.
This followed the intense protest that greeted the clemency announced on October 11, 2025.
Many Nigerians had kicked against the pardon formally approved at the National Council of State meeting on October 9, 2025.
President Tinubu was accused of laying a bad precedent that would encourage impunity among criminal elements in the country.
The family of Bilyaminu Bello, who was stabbed to death in 2017 by his wife, Maryam Sanda, issued an official statement to condemn the pardon granted to the killer.
They argued that the clemency granted to Maryam was like saying that the life of their son was equal to that of a chicken.
They lamented that all the efforts that the agents of the state took to ensure that the offender was given her due punishment had been rubbished by the questionable pardon.
Opposition parties also accused Tinubu of abusing the clemency arrangement, warning that it would make the country worse.
The Nigerian Bar Association’s Section on Public Interest and Development Law called for a reversal of the pardon, saying that it was “a grave error of judgment”.
It warned that granting mercy to a convicted murderer would work against accountability and deterrence.
In a statement on Wednesday, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that Tinubu had ordered a review of the list.
Onanuga said as a result of the review, some individuals convicted of serious crimes such as kidnapping, drug-related offences, fraud, human trafficking, and unlawful possession of firearms, among others, had been deleted from the clemency list.
The presidential aide added that others who had been hitherto pardoned in the old list had their sentences commuted.
He said this was done in consultations with the Council of State, taking into consideration public feedback.
Onanuga said the revisiting of the pardon was necessary in view of the security implications of some of the offences, and also the need to be sensitive to the feelings of the victims of the crimes and society in general.
The presidential aide further said the move was to boost the morale of law enforcement agencies, and also in recognition of bilateral obligations.
Onanuga said the concept of justice being a three-way traffic for the Accused, the Victim, and the State/Society also influenced the review.
Before this revocation, experts analysed those pardoned and revealed that those convicted of drug-related offences were the largest category, constituting about 29.2 per cent of those pardoned.
The analysis showed that another 24 per cent were sentenced for illegal mining, followed by homicide, corruption, and human trafficking.
An official gazette dated October 23, 2025, but released on Wednesday, reduced the number of beneficiaries from 175 to 120.
Several high-profile names, including convicted killer Maryam Sanda, were reclassified under reduced terms of imprisonment.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, who released the gazette, explained that the exercise followed the President’s approval after a due-process review of the initial recommendations presented to him earlier by the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy.
He disclosed that during the final review, a few persons recommended earlier were found not to have met the requirements and were accordingly delisted.
The minister said in some other cases, sentences were reviewed and reduced to reflect fairness, justice, and the spirit of the exercise.
Tinubu has also directed the relocation of the Secretariat of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy from the Ministry of Special Duties to the Ministry of Justice.
He also directed the Justice Minister to issue new guidelines for exercising the prerogative of mercy, mandating “compulsory consultation with relevant prosecuting agencies” before any list is approved.
