By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The social media space has been agog following the news of the pardon granted to Sunday Jackson, a farmer sentenced to death for killing a herdsman, by the Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri.
The news of the pardon has continued to elicit reactions from human rights groups, faith-based organisations, foreign lawmakers and members of the public.
In a statement released on Tuesday, December 23, in Yola by Governor Fintiri’s Chief Press Secretary, Humwashi Wonosikou, the state government stated that it is in commemoration of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Jackson, who is in Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, was pardoned alongside Joseph Eugene from the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Yola, and Maxwell Ibrahim, serving at the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kaduna.
The statement explained that Governor Fintiri extended his gesture to the convicts because they had demonstrated significant improvement in their behaviour and conduct.
The reactions to the pardon included that of a member of the United States House of Representatives, Riley Moore, who welcomed Jackson’s pardon and described it as a “positive development” in Nigeria-United States relations.
Moore, who had repeatedly raised the case during congressional hearings and meetings with Nigerian officials, said Jackson’s freedom showed a willingness by Nigerian authorities to engage with international concerns on human rights and religious persecution.
He also added that Jackson should be protected during and after his release, noting that the case had become symbolic of broader security and justice concerns affecting rural communities in Nigeria.
A human rights organisation, Hope Behind Bars Africa, commended the governor for what it described as a courageous and compassionate use of the constitutional prerogative of mercy.
In a statement signed by its executive director, Funke Adeoye, on Tuesday, December 23, it said the pardon had corrected a “grave injustice” and underscored the failures of the criminal justice system in handling cases of self-defence.
Some Nigerians on social media also expressed relief at Jackson’s release, with users describing the pardon as long overdue and a Christmas miracle for his family.
@LanisterThe tweeted on X, “Justice delayed but not denied. No farmer deserves a death sentence for defending his life on his own land.”
@firstladyship added, “No one should pass through this type of nightmare. No consolation is closure enough. But I’m glad he will enjoy the Yuletide with his family. U.S pressure paid off. Finally, Sunday Jackson is FREE! Praaaaaaaaaaise the Lord.”
Also tweeting @dipoaina1 wrote, “After 11 long years, Sunday Jackson is free at last. A simple farmer from Adamawa State, he was sentenced to die for defending his own farmland. For over a decade, prison walls reminded him daily that justice had abandoned him.
“He acted in self-defence, yet his life was put on pause while the system failed to see what was obvious.
“That it took pressure from the United States to correct this injustice says everything about our broken institutions. Every Nigerian government, past and present, should bury its head in shame from the highest office to the lowest. God forbid.”
