Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence for Maryam Sanda, Rebukes Tinubu’s Attempted Pardon
The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the death sentence imposed on Maryam Sanda for the 2017 killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello weeks after President Bola Tinubu nearly secured her release through a controversial presidential pardon.
Sanda was convicted by an Abuja High Court in January 2020 for stabbing Bello during a domestic dispute. The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict later that year.
In a 4–1 decision, the Supreme Court dismissed Sanda’s final appeal, ruling that prosecutors proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Moore Adumein said the lower courts acted correctly in affirming her guilt and sentence.
The apex court also criticised President Tinubu for attempting to grant a pardon while the case was still under judicial consideration. In October, Tinubu’s decision to pardon Sanda and several convicted drug offenders triggered nationwide backlash. The president later reversed part of the decision, removing drug convicts from the list and commuting Sanda’s death sentence to 12 years in prison, of which she has already served nearly six.
Friday’s ruling marks the end of Sanda’s legal options and underscores concerns over inconsistent use of presidential mercy, delays in Nigeria’s justice system, and the disproportionate number of inmates awaiting trial. Nearly 70 percent of the nation’s prison population consists of detainees who have spent longer in custody than the maximum sentence for their alleged offences.
Following public criticism, the presidency announced plans to introduce stricter guidelines for future exercises of the prerogative of mercy.