Bilyaminu’s relative faults Maryam Sanda’s father-in-law over comments on presidential pardon

Hafiz Usman, a relative of the late Bilyaminu Bello hascriticised Ahmed Isa Bello, the deceased’s father, over his public defence ofPresident Bola Tinubu’s decision to grant a presidential pardon to MaryamSanda, who was convicted for Bilyaminu’s murder. At a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Bello said he hadbeen advocating clemency for Sanda long before the president’s decision, notingthat he had written to former attorney-general Abubakar Malami in 2019 torequest mercy for her on humanitarian grounds. His remarks came days after the Bello family issued astatement condemning Sanda’s release, describing it as “the worst possibleinjustice” to the memory of their slain relative. The family had said allowing Sanda to “walk the face of theearth again, free from any blemish for her heinous crime”, was a painfulbetrayal of justice. Usman, however, faulted Bello’s appearance at the pressbriefing, alleging that the man had never been part of the deceased’s life. In a Facebook post, Usman said despite being close toBilyaminu throughout his life, he had never met his biological father until thepress conference. ‘I HAVE NEVER SEEN BILYAMINUN’S FATHER’ In a Facebook post, Usman said despite being close toBilyaminu throughout his life, he had never met his biological father until thepress conference. “But what happened today (referring to the press conference)with that stunt that was pulled by the perpetrator’s family was another bitterpill too hard to swallow,” he wrote. “To be honest, I don’t really blame her (Maryam Sanda)father because he was only doing what any father will do to protect hisdaughter from public bashing. I completely understand why. “What I don’t understand is why dragging into the framesomeone who had never been in the picture all through Bilya’s lifetime, &it is that person my ‘anger’ is directed at. “If they wanted genuine reconciliation, why not reach out tothe person they had been dealing with all the while from when their childrenwere dating till the unfortunate incident occurred? “Didn’t they know that Bilya had a biological father whenthey gave their daughter to him to marry? But then again, even I, despiteknowing & being close to Bilya his whole life, didn’t know that hisbiological father was alive & had never seen him before until today’s pressconference. “I even had to first confirm from some relatives if theperson in the video was indeed Bilya’s father. Tells you enough about the typeof ‘father’ he was. “But because of some miserable worldly gain that wouldn’tlast a year at most, he chose to do what he did & stick two fingers in theeyes of the person that took over his son’s upbringing & made him into theman that he turned out to be without any input from the so-called biologicalfather.” Mahmud Jega, a columnist, also weighed in, noting in arecent article that Bilyaminu was raised by his maternal grandmother and laterby his uncle, Haliru Mohammed Bello, a former national chairman of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP), following the early death of his mother. BACKGROUNDLast Thursday, Sanda was among the 175 persons who receiveda presidential pardon and other forms of clemency from President Bola Tinubufollowing the approval of the national council of state. The presidency said Sanda’s family pleaded for her releasein the best interest of her two children and that she showed good conduct inprison. In November 2017, Sanda was arrested for stabbing herhusband to death over alleged infidelity. In January 2020, a federal capital territory (FCT) highcourt found Sanda guilty of killing her husband and sentenced her to death byhanging. In December 2020, the court of appeal in Abuja affirmed thedecision of the trial court and dismissed Sanda’s appeal. The supreme courtfollowed suit.

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