President Bola Tinubu has granted clemency to Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute.
The president’s decision was announced on Saturday by his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Sanda, 37, was released after spending six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.
According to Mr Onanuga, the decision followed pleas from her family, who said her release was in the best interest of her two children.
He added that the pardon was also based on her good conduct in custody and her expression of remorse.
The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja had in January 2020 found Sanda guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced her to death by hanging.
Justice Yusuf Halilu ruled that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that she stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife, leading to his death.
The victim, Bilyaminu Bello, was the son of a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Haliru Bello.
Sanda was first arraigned by the police in November 2017 for stabbing her husband to death at their home in Abuja.
She was granted bail on health grounds in March 2018 after several failed applications.
Her trial, which lasted over two years, was marked by delays, adjournments and changes in legal representation.
During the proceedings, witnesses testified that she had attempted to stab her husband multiple times before his death, while she maintained that it was not premeditated.
Sanda is among 175 convicts and former convicts granted presidential pardon or sentence reduction by Tinubu.
