The Supreme Court has struck down the presidential pardon granted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Abuja-based housewife, Maryam Sanda.
President Tinubu had earlier reduced Sanda’s punishment to 12 years as part of a broader pardon that included figures such as Sir Herbert Macaulay, Major General Mamman Vatsa, and Ken Saro-Wiwa (posthumously), along with many other inmates convicted of crimes ranging from drug offenses to fraud, aimed at easing prison congestion and advancing restorative justice.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court, in a four-to-one majority decision, reinstated the death sentence initially imposed by the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
The Court of Appeal had earlier affirmed the judgement of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, which ordered her execution by hanging.
The Apex Court addressed every issue raised in Sanda’s appeal and dismissed the case, declaring it lacked substance.
Justice Moore Adumein, who read the lead decision himself, stated that the prosecution had successfully established the case beyond reasonable doubt, noting that the Court of Appeal acted rightly in upholding the trial court’s verdict.
Sanda received a death-by-hanging sentence in 2020 for the death of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, following a domestic conflict.
Although she had spent six years and eight months at Suleja prison, the presidential pardon had reduced her overall term to 12 years, “based on compassionate ground, in the best interest of the children, good conduct, embraced new lifestyle, model to prisoners and remorsefulness.”
