The Supreme Court on Friday delivered a landmark judgment, overriding the pardon granted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Maryam Sanda, and affirmed the death sentence by hanging for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, in 2017. It was recalled that President Tinubu had previously reduced Sanda’s death sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on “compassionate grounds” in October 2025. However, 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. Crucially, 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 ...
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