Controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has said that the presidential pardon granted to Maryam Sanda, who was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to death for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, is the best way to go.

DAILY POST reports that President Tinubu earlier granted pardon to Sanda and 174 other convicts, including drug traffickers, kidnappers, and fraudsters.

However, following public outrage, the President, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga, announced that the presidential pardon had been revoked.

Sanda’s punishment was, however, reduced to 12 years in prison on “compassionate grounds in the interest of the children.”

Reacting, Gumi, in a post on Facebook, said Sanda’s remorsefulness after killing her husband shows that it was the “work of Shaytan.”

According to him, “They said she stabbed him, then broke down crying over his body. Do you understand? That is the work of Shaytan.

“So, when she was pardoned, people began to speak without knowledge, they do not understand the ruling of forgiveness in Islamic law.”

“The family of the deceased said, ‘We have forgiven her.’ May Allah protect us all. Ameen.”

The Islamic scholar explained that the act of forgiveness earlier granted by the victim’s family was not only lawful but spiritually superior.

“In 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.

“Maryam Sanda’s 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,” he added.