The Supreme Court of Nigeria has upheld the verdicts of the Federal High Court which sentenced Maryam Sanda to death by hanging for the murder of her husband.
In a four-to-one split decision, the apex court upheld the 2020 conviction handed down by the Federal Capital Territory High Court, which was subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal. The court ruled that the prosecution had proven the case beyond reasonable doubt and that the executive pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu was inappropriate while an appeal was still pending.
Justice Moore Adumein, delivering the lead judgment, emphasised that the courts must maintain the integrity of judicial processes and that Sanda’s appeal lacked merit. All grounds raised in her petition were dismissed, reinstating the original death sentence.
Maryam Sanda, an Abuja-based housewife, was convicted in January 2020 for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, whom she stabbed to death during a domestic dispute.
It will be recalled that President Tinubu had pardoned Maryam few months earlier. But following public outcry, the President commuted her sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on compassionate grounds.
It is not yet certain if the Supreme Court’s ruling, will hinder her Presidential pardon.
