Pardon follows years of legal battles, a upheld death sentence, and mounting U.S. pressure over Nigeria’s handling of farmer-herder violence cases now.
Adamawa State Government in northeastern Nigeria have granted a full pardon to Sunday Jackson, a farmer sentenced to death for killing a herder during a violent confrontation on his farmland, ending a case that drew international attention and diplomatic pressure from the United States.
The pardon was announced Tuesday December 23, 2025, by Humwashi Wonosikou, Chief Press Secretary to Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. It was later confirmed by Funke Adeoye, founder of the legal advocacy group Hope Behind Bars, which had campaigned for Jackson’s release.
In a statement, the state government said Governor Fintiri approved the pardon as part of clemency measures marking the Christmas and New Year holidays. Jackson had been held at the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
Jackson’s case has long been a flashpoint in Nigeria’s broader farmer-herder conflict, a struggle over land and resources that has fueled violence across several regions of the country. The incident dates back to 2015 in Dong community, Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State, where Jackson was working on his farm.
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According to court records and defense accounts, a herder, identified as Buba Bawuro, led cattle onto Jackson’s land, damaging crops. A confrontation followed, during which Bawuro allegedly attacked Jackson with a knife. Jackson sustained injuries but managed to disarm the herder and stabbed him. Bawuro later died from his wounds. Jackson consistently argued that he acted in self-defense.
In 2021, a High Court in Yola convicted Jackson of culpable homicide and sentenced him to death by hanging. The court ruled that he could have fled after disarming his attacker, a finding that sparked criticism from legal experts and human rights advocates. Nigeria’s Supreme Court upheld the sentence earlier this year.
The case drew heightened scrutiny from the United States amid concerns over religious violence and Nigeria’s justice system. In November, Washington designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged attacks on Christians. Around the same time, U.S. lawmaker Riley Moore publicly called for Jackson’s release.
President Donald Trump also issued strong warnings over violence targeting Christians in Nigeria, increasing diplomatic pressure on state and federal authorities.
Jackson’s pardon is being welcomed by advocacy groups as a rare intervention in a highly sensitive case, while also underscoring the growing international focus on Nigeria’s handling of communal violence and capital punishment.