Ahmadu Fintiri, the governor of Adamawa State, has pardoned Sunday Jackson, a farmer who was given the death penalty by the Supreme Court for killing a Fulani herdsman in self-defense.
Remember that the victim’s family and community leaders have begged the state governor to use his mercy prerogative to pardon Jackson.
According to Daily Trust, the governor granted the clemency under Section 212 of the Nigerian Constitution by signing the pardon yesterday.
The tragic altercation occurred in 2015 after Jackson, who had been in detention for more than a decade, was attacked on his property. His case spurred a nationwide discussion about justice and the right to self-defense.
In Adamawa State’s Demsa Local Government Area, Jackson works as a local farmer in Don Village.
The governor’s choice has been praised by his supporters as a triumph for forgiveness and peacemaking.
Fulani organizations had earlier applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to sentence Jackson to death by hanging for the murder of a relative.
The group and other Fulani natives interpret the ruling as a reaffirmation of their rights and a reaction to what they consider as deliberate assaults on their members in different localities.
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