A foreign humanitarian organization known as Widows and Orphan.info in conjunction with renowned human rights activist Omoleye Sowore have called on the Adamawa State governor Fintiri to grant pardon to a farmer Jackson Sunday who was sentenced to Death for killing a Fulani herdsman in self defense.
Volunteer CEO of the foreign body, Dr. William Devlin who narrated the incident said that led to his imprisonment.
He said, “Sunday Jackson was minding his business farming in Adamawa when he was accousted by by a Fulani Herdsman who attacked and stabbed him. Jackson in a moment of self defense turned the knife on the attacker and they had a mortal combat and the attacked perished.”
“He went to jail in 2015 and stayed in jail six years before his case was tried in 2021, I had the privilege of going to Adamawa state to visit Jackson in the prison in Yola the state capital.”
“I ministered to him, prayed for him and also heard the story first hand from his own lips and from then we started to be advocate for the victim.”
“We were at the hearing of his case at the Nigerian supreme Court on Friday March 7, 2025. He was the last of 30 cases announced, his case was later dismissed after the supreme Court agreed with the appeal court to sentence him to death by hanging.”
“So, unless there’s a pardon by the state governor, the judgement will be hanged. He’s been on death row for ten years.”
“We’ve been advocating for him in Abuja and Adamawa but now it has become not only Nigerian wide situation but an African as well as international case.”
“We are very grateful that God is using us to promote his case and we are encouraging people to write the governor on this case hoping that the governor will graciously pardon this young man.”
On his part, Sowore said, we came across Dr. Williams yesterday here at the court, we are here representing other victims of oppression in Nigeria.
“We all have a duty at getting Jackson of here, he said while describing the judgement as unjust, unlawful and inhumane condition of legal limbo that has been validated by the supreme Court.
“He cited the case of a guy who has been in police custody for fifty days because he did a tiktok video accusing the wife of the vice president of immorality.”
“He was supposed to appear in court today but they did not bring him.”
“All this is happening at a time that herdsmen are killing people all the way from Maiduguri to Port Harcourt. They are killing people in their farms with impunity”.
“Whereas we didn’t clarify it as an ethic issue but we classify this as failure of those in government.”
He called on the Adamawa state governor to grant Jackson immediate pardon as well as compensate him to enable him reunite with his family.
He also urged the Nigerian government to protect farmers across the country as is the only way to bring about food security.
“We cannot be having hunger ravaging the country even though our hunger is inflicted by corruption and irresponsibility but on ei the way be can solve our economic problem is to have our farmers protected in their farms”.
Also speaking on the situation, Emmanuel Ogebe said, “it looks like on this planet there are two countries that worship cows, one is the Hindus and Nigerians.
“Cows seem to have greater protection and constitutional rights than the Nigerian citizen.”
“What is very upsetting to me is that we have a court system that will contort the meaning of the constitution to accommodate the vices of politicians.”
“The constitution clearly said that this judgement should have been rendered within 90 days, but was rendered 167days afterwards.”
“The claim in the judgement is that he should have run away but the evidence showed that he was stabbed in the leg, how can someone who was stabbed in the leg run?”
“Fulani Herdsman are very agile, they live in the bush, Sunday said he ran but the man ran and overtook him. he was not the aggressor, it was the attacker weapon that he used to strike back.”
“This is why we are upset by this judgment, it said that because the man stabbed him two times and he stabbed him three times it is excessive, this does not even make any sense”, he added.
“This was a battle for life and in every game the person who score the highest goal wins, only one person was coming out of this battle Alive and each person wanted to be the one”.
“The fact that he stabbed him only three times my mind tells me that he is a very good person because any other person in that situation could have stabbed him up to seven times.”
“First of all you came to destroy my farm with your cattle and then you wanted to kill me because I spoke, he was a victim of double assault.”
“It would have been best he died that day, because his wife died while giving birth to their baby who is now ten years old.”
“Nigeria and the government has failed its people”, he said
Dr. Williams appreciated his royal majesty chief Daniel Shaga for taking in the parents of the Sunday Jackson.
He displayed a letter written by the Father if the deceased herdsman to givernor Fintiri asking him to pardon Sunday.
“We would be organizing signatures across the globe calling on Governor Fintiri to grant him immediate pardon,” the team added.