The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday affirmed the death sentence by hanging sentence for Maryam Sanda, who murdered her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, in 2017, brushing aside the previous pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu.
As broadcast journalist and public affairs commentator, Lubem Tiav of Radio Benue Makurdi observed, “the recent action of Mr President to grant clemency to over one hundred and seventy-five Nigerians, was not only commendable but a noble and worthy course of action in the spirit and letters of restorative justice”.
In October 2025, President Bola Tinubu invoked his constitutional power under Chapter 6, Part 1, Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution to grant clemency to about 175 Nigerians convicted of various offences, a move many initially hailed as a bold step in restorative justice.
Tinubu had previously reduced Sanda’s death sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on “compassionate grounds” in October 2025, amid backlash by Nigerians who considered the decision as a setback to the law.
But, in a four-to-one split decision, the Apex Court dismissed the appeal filed by Sanda, ruling that the prosecution had proved the case of culpable homicide beyond a reasonable doubt.
Justice Moore Adumein, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the Court of Appeal, Abuja, was correct in upholding the initial death sentence handed down by the Federal Capital Territory High Court in 2020, reports say.
Specifically, Justice Adumein addressed the legal conundrum created by the Presidential pardon, stating: “It was wrong for the Executive to seek to exercise its power of pardon over a case of culpable homicide, in respect of which an appeal was pending”.
The court also resolved all issues raised in her appeal against her, declaring the entire appeal to be without merit, and nullified the compassionate reduction of Sanders jail sentence, reinstating the original conviction for the brutal killing of Bilyaminu Bello during a domestic dispute.
