{"id":184766,"date":"2025-10-30T17:56:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T16:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda"},"modified":"2025-10-30T19:04:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:04:17","slug":"sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda","title":{"rendered":"Sheikh Gumi Supports Presidential Pardon for Maryam Sanda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has expressed support for the presidential pardon earlier granted to Maryam Sanda, describing it as an act of mercy consistent with Islamic teachings.<\/p>\n

Sanda was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute.<\/p>\n

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had granted her and 174 others a state pardon, but public outrage over the decision led to its revocation. The presidency later commuted Sanda\u2019s sentence to 12 years imprisonment on \u201ccompassionate grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reacting in a Facebook post on Thursday, Sheikh Gumi said Sanda\u2019s actions were not premeditated but influenced by the devil, adding that her remorse showed repentance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said she stabbed him, then broke down crying over his body. Do you understand? That is the work of Shaytan,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

The cleric further argued that forgiveness from the victim\u2019s family made the pardon both lawful and spiritually acceptable in Islam.\u201c<\/p>\n

The family of the deceased said, \u2018We have forgiven her.\u2019 May Allah protect us all. Ameen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Gumi said Islam values mercy over vengeance, explaining that forgiveness is a sign of strength, not weakness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Islam, when the family of the victim forgives, it is not a weakness, it is mercy. And mercy is more beloved to Allah than vengeance,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

He stressed that executing Sanda would not have solved the problem, adding that the decision to pardon her was the right one.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaryam Sanda\u2019s execution would not have been the right solution. The presidential pardon she received was the correct one. In Islam, justice is not driven by anger but by balance and compassion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has expressed support for the presidential pardon earlier granted to Maryam Sanda, describing it as an act of mercy consistent with Islamic teachings. Sanda was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had granted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":184765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-184766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nSheikh Gumi Supports Presidential Pardon for Maryam Sanda - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has expressed support for the presidential pardon earlier granted to Mar ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sheikh Gumi Supports Presidential Pardon for Maryam Sanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has expressed support for the presidential pardon earlier granted to Mar ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-30T16:56:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-30T18:04:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/sm_1761835086.579414.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Sheikh Gumi Supports Presidential Pardon for Maryam Sanda\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-30T16:56:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-30T18:04:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda\"},\"wordCount\":291,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/sm_1761835086.579414.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/sheikh-gumi-supports-presidential-pardon-for-maryam-sanda\",\"name\":\"Sheikh Gumi Supports Presidential Pardon for Maryam Sanda - 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