Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has approved a pardon for Sunday Jackson, the farmer who was sentenced to death after killing a Fulani herder during an alleged attack on his farmland. The decision was announced on Tuesday in a statement signed by the governor’s chief press secretary, Humwashi Wonosikou. “Adamawa State Governor, Rt. Hon Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri CON, has granted pardon to Sunday Jackson who was sentenced to death,” the statement said. “The pardon is in commemoration of Christmas and New Year celebrations.” The statement explained that Jackson, who is being held at the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, was not the only beneficiary. “Jackson who is in Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre has been pardoned alongside Joseph Eugene from the Medium Security Custodial Centre Yola new and Maxwell Ibrahim serving at the Medium Security Custodial Center in Kaduna.” Jackson’s pardon follows months of intense international attention, particularly from the United States. In November, the case gained renewed prominence after the U.S. designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over allegations of killings of Christians. At the time, President Donald Trump issued strong warnings over continued attacks on Christians in Nigeria. U.S. Congressman Riley Moore also publicly demanded Jackson’s release, criticising his conviction for culpable homicide and death sentence by hanging for killing an armed herdsman who allegedly attacked him on his farm. Speaking on Fox News, Moore said, “But there’s a lot of things they can do, and one of the first steps is releasing Sunday Jackson, and another one is working with us to disarm these militants in the middle-belt of the country—the Fulani Islamic radicals that are there.”