The Supreme Court has set aside the presidential pardon earlier granted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Abuja housewife Maryam Sanda, reinstating the death sentence imposed on her for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute in 2017.
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Sanda was convicted on January 27, 2020, by an Abuja High Court, which found her guilty of stabbing Bello son of a former PDP Chairman to death at their Maitama residence. The Court of Appeal later affirmed the conviction and sentence.
In October 2025, President Tinubu exercised executive clemency and reduced Sanda’s sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment, citing compassionate grounds and the need to safeguard the welfare of her children. Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had explained that her inclusion in the presidential pardon list was based on her “good conduct, remorsefulness, and positive influence on other inmates.”
However, in a split decision of 4–1, the Supreme Court on Friday overturned the presidential intervention and fully restored the original death sentence.
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 trial court’s ruling. He further ruled that the executive acted improperly by granting a pardon while the case was still under judicial consideration.
According to the apex court, the President cannot exercise the power of clemency when an appeal particularly in a capital offence remains pending before the judiciary. Doing so, the court said, violates the doctrine of separation of powers.
“All issues raised by the appellant are resolved against her. The appeal lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed,” Justice Adumein stated.
The verdict means Sanda’s conviction for culpable homicide is final, and the death sentence by hanging originally handed down in 2020 has been fully reinstated.
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