The Supreme Court has nullified the pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu to Maryam Sanda, a housewife based in Abuja.
Sanda had been sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute. Recently, the presidency announced that President Tinubu had reduced her sentence to 12 years in prison on compassionate grounds.
However, in a ruling delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court, by a four-to-one majority, reinstated the original death sentence upheld by the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
The Court of Appeal had previously affirmed the judgment of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, which sentenced Sanda to death.
The Supreme Court dismissed all the grounds raised in Sanda’s appeal, ruling them without merit. Justice Moore Adumein, delivering the lead judgment, stated that the prosecution had successfully proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt and that the Court of Appeal was correct in upholding the trial court’s verdict.
