Supreme Court Affirms Death Sentence on Maryam Sanda

By Hajara Abdullahi

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence earlier passed on Maryam Sanda over the killing of her husband, Bilyamin Bello.

Sanda had been convicted by an Abuja High Court on January 27, 2020, after being found guilty of stabbing her husband to death at their residence in Maitama.

After spending about six years and eight months at the Suleja Correctional Centre, she was recently granted clemency by President Bola Tinubu, reducing her sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment — a decision that sparked widespread public uproar and condemnation.

However, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), defended the clemency, explaining that it was granted “on compassionate grounds and in the best interest of the children,” adding that her “good record, current lifestyle, model behavior, and remorsefulness” were part of the justifications.

In a separate judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court reinstated the original death sentence.

The court dismissed her appeal in its entirety, ruling that she failed to show any error in the concurrent findings of the lower courts.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Moore Adumein held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that the Court of Appeal was right to affirm the conviction.

The Supreme Court further faulted President Tinubu’s intervention, declaring that it was wrong for the Executive to grant clemency in a homicide case while an appeal was still pending.

With Friday’s decision, the death sentence earlier handed down by the trial court stands.