JUSTICE AT LAST: Gov. Fintiri Frees Death-Row Farmer, Sunday Jackson, In Christmas Pardon That Shakes Adamawa

Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has granted a dramatic Christmas pardon to Sunday Jackson, a farmer who was controversially sentenced to death for killing a herder while defending himself during an attack on his farmland—bringing to a close one of the state’s most emotionally charged justice sagas.
The pardon, announced on Tuesday as part of the state’s Christmas and New Year clemency package, has been widely hailed as a long-awaited victory for justice, common sense, and the rights of rural farmers.
Jackson’s case had for years ignited outrage across Adamawa and beyond, drawing condemnation from human rights groups, civil society organisations, and farming communities, who viewed his conviction as a chilling precedent that criminalised self-defence.

Jackson was convicted following a violent confrontation on his farm, where he was reportedly attacked by a herder. Despite strong claims of clear self-defence, he was sentenced to death and later transferred to the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abuja.
To many Nigerians, his ordeal became a grim symbol of what critics described as a justice system that failed to protect vulnerable farmers under attack while toiling to feed the nation.
For years, Jackson languished on death row—his fate hanging in the balance—while calls for his release grew louder.

Exercising his constitutional prerogative of mercy, Governor Fintiri granted Jackson a full pardon, effectively overturning a sentence many had described as a grave miscarriage of justice.
According to the governor, the decision followed recommendations from the Adamawa State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy and was informed by Jackson’s conduct while in custody.
“Therefore, in the exercise of my prerogative of mercy as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and in line with the recommendations of the Adamawa State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, I have granted pardon to three persons and directed the remission of the remainder of the sentences of five others who have demonstrated good conduct over the years,” Governor Fintiri stated.

News of Jackson’s release triggered jubilation across Adamawa, particularly among rural farmers who had long feared that defending their lives and livelihoods could land them on death row.
While the official government statement avoided reopening the facts of the case, rights advocates insist the pardon is a quiet but powerful acknowledgment that Jackson should never have been condemned in the first place.
Alongside Jackson, two other inmates were fully pardoned, while five others received remission of their sentences. Yet, it was Jackson’s freedom that dominated conversations, radio discussions, and social media across the state.
For many, his release is more than an act of mercy—it is a symbolic reset, a reminder that justice, though delayed, can still prevail.
For Sunday Jackson and countless farmers watching closely, Christmas came with freedom—and hope restored.