Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has granted a full pardon to Sunday Jackson, a farmer who was sentenced to death for killing a Fulani herder during a confrontation on his farm, citing self-defence.
The pardon, announced on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, comes as part of Christmas and New Year celebrations and follows recommendations from the Adamawa State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy.
The decision was based on Jackson's demonstrated good conduct and significant behavioural improvement while in custody.
Jackson's case dates back to 2015, when he was attacked by the herder, Buba Ardo Bawuro (or Buba Bawura), armed with a knife on his farmland in Kodomti community, Numan Local Government Area.
Jackson disarmed and overpowered his attacker, resulting in the herder's death. Despite arguing self-defence, he was convicted of culpable homicide by an Adamawa High Court in February 2021 and sentenced to death by hanging, with the judge ruling he had the opportunity to flee.
The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal in June 2022 and the Supreme Court in early 2025, though it sparked widespread controversy, public debate on self-defence rights, and calls for mercy from civil society, religious groups like the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, and even international figures, including a U.S. congressman who urged intervention.
Alongside Jackson, who was held at the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abuja, the governor pardoned two other inmates: Joseph Eugene (Yola Medium Security Custodial Centre) and Maxwell Ibrahim (Kaduna Medium Security Custodial Centre).
Additionally, Fintiri ordered the full remission of sentences for five others serving terms at centres in Numan and Jada: Joshua James Audo, Adamu Ibrahim, Mohammed Abubakar, Ibrahim Usman, and Saidu Abubakar.
The governor exercised his constitutional prerogative of mercy under Section 212 of the Nigerian Constitution, emphasising rehabilitation and compassion during the festive season.
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