A member of the United States House of Representatives, Riley Moore, has appealed to the Federal Government to pardon an Adamawa farmer, Sunday Jackson, who is currently on death row for killing a herdsman during a 2015 confrontation.
Moore made the call on Thursday during a congressional hearing on President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. He described Jackson’s conviction and subsequent death sentence as unjust.
“I would urge the Nigerian government to take a look at pardoning Sunday Jackson, who is an individual fighting for his own life, defending his life against one of these Fulani militants,” Moore said. “That Fulani militant lost his life in that struggle, and now that person, Sunday Jackson, is facing the death penalty. Where is the justice in that?”
The US lawmaker also raised concerns about the security situation in parts of Nigeria, particularly in the Middle Belt. He questioned what he described as the government’s failure to curb the circulation of arms among violent groups.
“Somehow these Fulani militants operating in the Middle Belt region are all armed. Why hasn’t there been some type of move or campaign by the Nigerian government to disarm these militants?” he asked, adding that the proliferation of AK-47 rifles and other weapons had worsened attacks on rural communities.
Jackson was convicted for killing a herdsman, Buba Bawuro, during a confrontation on his farm in Adamawa State in 2015. He claimed he acted in self-defence after being attacked, but the prosecution argued he exceeded the limits of self-defence by using a recovered weapon to stab an unarmed assailant.
After years in detention, he was sentenced to death by an Adamawa State High Court in 2021. His appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal and later by the Supreme Court, which on March 7, 2025, upheld the death sentence, ruling that his actions amounted to retaliation rather than self-defence.
The Supreme Court’s decision generated nationwide debate, with several civil society groups and individuals expressing concerns over the court’s interpretation of the self-defence claim.
Moore urged the US State Department to intensify engagements with Nigeria on human rights and community protection, saying a reconsideration of Jackson’s case would signal fairness and strengthen bilateral dialogue on justice reforms.
