Why Maryam Sanda was given clemency – Presidency

The Presidency has revealed the reason Maryam Sanda, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for the murder of her husband, was granted clemency by President Bola Tinubu recently.

Speaking in an interview on ‘Prime Time’, a programme on Arise Television monitored by DAILY POST on Thursday, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Mariam was given clemency, not a pardon.

Onanuga further explained that her crime was that of passion, adding that her kids were put into consideration.

DAILY POST recalls that President Tinubu reduced the death sentence passed on Maryam Sanda to 12 years imprisonment.

Reacting, Onanuga said, “This president is not the one that is afraid to reverse himself. He’s been considerate about this. He’s a human being, who can make mistakes and he listens to the public.

“Maryam Sanda was given clemency, not pardon. Her kids were put into consideration. It was a crime of passion not premeditated.

“Anything can happen between a man and a woman in the heat of the moment. The president is moved by compassion.”