Supreme Court Nullifies Presidential Pardon, Upholds Maryam Sanda’s Death Sentence

The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the presidential pardon granted to Abuja housewife Maryam Sanda and upheld the death sentence earlier imposed on her for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.

Sanda was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to death by hanging by an FCT High Court after being found guilty of killing Bello during a domestic dispute. The Court of Appeal later affirmed the conviction and sentence.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Moore Adumein held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and agreed that the appellate court acted correctly in upholding the trial court’s decision. He ruled that the Executive erred by attempting to issue a pardon while the case was still undergoing judicial review.

In a split decision of four-to-one, the Apex Court dismissed Sanda’s appeal for lack of merit and affirmed the death sentence as handed down by the lower courts.

President Bola Tinubu had recently commuted Sanda’s sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on compassionate grounds, but the Supreme Court’s ruling renders that pardon invalid.