BREAKING: Maryam Sanda must die by hanging – Supreme Court overrides Tinubu

The Supreme Court has nullified the pardon recently granted by President Bola Tinubu to Maryam Sanda, an Abuja-based housewife, restoring her death sentence.

Sanda was originally sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 for the killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute. Earlier this year, President Tinubu had commuted her sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on compassionate grounds.

However, in a judgment delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court, in a 4–1 split decision, upheld the death penalty imposed by the Court of Appeal, which had earlier affirmed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court’s ruling.

Justice Moore Adumein, delivering the lead judgment, stated that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, and that the Court of Appeal was correct in affirming the trial court’s verdict. The Apex Court dismissed all issues raised in Sanda’s appeal as lacking merit.

This ruling effectively overrides the presidential intervention, reinstating the ultimate sentence for the convicted housewife.