Supreme court has nullified President Tinubu’s pardon and reinstated death sentence for Maryam Sanda.
NaijaOnPoint Nigeria reports that the Supreme Court has set aside the presidential pardon granted to Abuja housewife, Maryam Sanda, restoring the death sentence earlier imposed on her for the killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
Sanda was convicted in 2020 by an FCT High Court and sentenced to death by hanging after the court found her guilty of stabbing her husband during a domestic altercation. The Court of Appeal later upheld the ruling.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had recently commuted her sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on compassionate grounds, according to a statement from the Presidency.
However, in a judgment delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court, in a 4–1 majority decision, nullified the presidential intervention and affirmed the death sentence.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Moore Adumein held that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt and that the Court of Appeal acted correctly in affirming the High Court’s decision.
The Apex Court dismissed Sanda’s appeal in its entirety, describing it as lacking in merit.