The Supreme Court has set aside the pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu to Maryam Sanda, an Abuja-based housewife, who was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute.
President Tinubu had earlier reduced Sanda’s sentence to 12 years imprisonment on compassionate grounds.
However, in a judgment delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court, in a split decision of four-to-one, upheld the death sentence imposed on Sanda by the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which had affirmed the decision of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
The Apex Court resolved all issues raised in the appeal filed by Sanda and dismissed the appeal for being without merit.
Justice Moore Adumein held in the lead judgment, which he personally delivered, that the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt as required, adding that the Court of Appeal was right to have affirmed the judgement of the trial court.
Justice Adumein held that 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.