The Supreme Court has nullified President Bola Tinubu’s decision to grant a pardon to Abuja housewife, Maryam Sanda, who was convicted in 2020 for the death of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
Sanda, originally sentenced to death by hanging, recently had her punishment reduced to 12 years’ imprisonment by President Tinubu on what the Presidency described as compassionate grounds.
However, in a split 4–1 judgment delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence earlier upheld by the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The Appeal Court had maintained the ruling of the Federal Capital Territory High Court that convicted her.
The apex court dismissed Sanda’s appeal, resolving all issues against her. In the lead judgment, Justice Moore Adumein held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and that the lower courts were right in affirming the conviction.
