The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday delivered a landmark ruling affirming the death sentence imposed on Maryam Sanda for the 2017 murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, and striking down a controversial clemency earlier granted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The apex court’s decision reinforces the authority of the judiciary and limits the scope of executive intervention in active criminal appeals.
Sanda, an Abuja‑based housewife and daughter‑in‑law of a former Peoples Democratic Party national chairman, was convicted of culpable homicide by the Federal Capital Territory High Court in January 2020. She was sentenced to death by hanging after the court found that she stabbed Bello to death during a domestic dispute at their Maitama residence. Her conviction was later upheld by the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
Earlier this year, President Tinubu exercised his constitutional power of mercy by commuting Sanda’s death sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on compassionate grounds, citing her good conduct in custody, remorse, and the welfare of her children. That act of clemency, published in an official gazette, sparked public controversy and legal debate over the limits of presidential pardon in cases where judicial processes are still underway.
In a split decision of four to one, the Supreme Court held that the exercise of executive clemency was unconstitutional and improper while Sanda’s appeal was pending before the courts. Justice Moore Adumein, delivering the lead judgment on behalf of the majority, stated that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that both the trial court and the Court of Appeal had correctly upheld the original sentence. The apex court dismissed Sanda’s appeal in its entirety for lacking merit.
The court’s ruling emphasised that presidential pardon powers cannot override or pre‑empt judicial authority, particularly in capital offences that remain under appellate consideration. This interpretation of constitutional boundaries has significant implications for the balance of power between the executive and judiciary in Nigeria’s legal framework.
Sanda has spent approximately six years and eight months in custody at the Suleja Correctional Centre. With the Supreme Court’s judgment now final, her death sentence is reinstated, effectively nullifying the earlier reduction of her term. Unless extraordinary constitutional provisions are pursued, the apex court’s ruling stands as the conclusive determination in the case.
