December 12, 2025
The Supreme Court took a swipe at President Tinubu for seeking to pardon Maryam Sanda in a culpable homicide case, in respect of which an appeal was still pending
The Supreme Court, on Friday, upheld the death sentence imposed on murder convict Maryam Sanda, who was just about seven weeks ago on the verge of being freed after President Bola Tinubu controversially pardoned her and a host of other convicts, including drug peddlers.
Tinubu drew public outrage in October for granting pardon to drug barons and Ms Sanda, who was found guilty and sentenced to death in January 2020 for stabbing her husband Bilyaminu Bello to death in Abuja eight years ago, in 2017.
The president, in response to widespread rebuke, partially reversed the pardon decision. He removed the convicted drug peddlers from the pardon list and commuted Ms Sanda’s death penalty to 12 years’ imprisonment, of which she already served almost six years.
On 27 January 2020, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja convicted and sentenced her to death for killing her husband during a domestic dispute.
Displeased with the judgement, she went on appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which delivered its judgement on 4 December 2020, affirming her conviction and sentence.
The Supreme Court, in a 4-1 majority judgement of its five-member panel on Friday, also affirmed the decisions of the lower courts.
A member of the panel, Moore Adumein, who read the lead majority judgment, held that the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt as required.
He added that the Court of Appeal was right to have earlier upheld the judgment of the trial court.
The judge criticised President TInubu for the prerogative of mercy exercised in favour of the murder convict.
Mr Adumein held that it was wrong for the president to seek to grant a pardon to the convict in a culpable homicide case, in respect of which an appeal was still pending.
The Supreme Court resolved all the issues raised in her appeal against her and dismissed the appeal for being without merit.
