By Charles Pemu 
In a profound victory for religious freedom and human rights, Sunday Jackson, a Christian farmer who spent over eleven years on death row for an act of self-defense, has been granted a state pardon. The release, announced on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, follows intense diplomatic advocacy from the United States and global human rights organizations.
Jackson’s case had become a focal point of international concern regarding the “procedural sanctity” of the Nigerian justice system and the plight of Christian farmers facing violence in the North-East.
The ordeal began more than ten years ago when Jackson, then a young student and farmer, was violently attacked on his property in Adamawa State. According to court records and Jackson’s own testimony, an armed assailant later identified as a herder stabbed him in the head and leg. In the ensuing life-and-death struggle, Jackson managed to disarm the attacker and used the same weapon to strike a fatal blow.
Despite clear evidence of his injuries, a High Court in 2021 sentenced Jackson to death by hanging. The presiding judge argued that Jackson had the “option of flight,” a ruling that critics and legal experts described as a “horrendous miscarriage of justice” given Jackson’s physical incapacitation at the time of the struggle. The Nigerian Supreme Court upheld the conviction in early 2025, sparking a global outcry.
The breakthrough in the case came after sustained pressure from U.S. Congressman Riley M. Moore, who championed Jackson’s cause during congressional hearings and a personal delegation visit to Nigeria. Moore, alongside legal advocates like Emmanuel Ogebe and organizations such as ADF International, argued that Jackson’s imprisonment was a symbol of religious persecution.+1
“Sunday Jackson is free!” Congressman Moore stated in a celebratory update. “After more than a decade in prison serving a death sentence for defending himself, Sunday has been pardoned. Our Lord came to set the captives free, and now Sunday will be able to celebrate Christmas with his family. Thanks be to God!”
The pardon was officially signed by Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri as part of a Christmas and New Year clemency exercise. The Governor acted on the recommendations of the State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy, which reviewed the case on humanitarian grounds.
The release is being viewed as a significant gesture of cooperation between the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the United States government. It marks a shift toward addressing the security challenges and legal inconsistencies that have historically disadvantaged farming communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Northeast regions.