Nigeria’s Supreme Court on Friday reinstated a death sentence of Maryam Sanda, who had received a presidential pardon reducing her sentence to 12 years in prison, several Nigerian media outlets reported.
Sanda was found guilty by an Abuja High Court in January 2020 of fatally stabbing her husband, Bilyamin Bello, in 2017, Nigeria’s Punch news website reported. She was sentenced to death by hanging, and an appeals court later upheld the sentence.
But Nigerian President Bola Tinubu later commuted the sentence to 12 years in prison on compassionate grounds.
What do we know about the Supreme Court ruling?
A panel of five justices on Friday voted 4-1 to nullify the presidential commutation and uphold the death sentence, according to several Nigerian outlets, including Punch, Arise TV and The National Online.
The court argued that Sanda’s appeal against her sentence “lacked merit,” Arise TV reported.
Justice Moore Adumein ruled that the prosecution proved its case “beyond reasonable doubt,” adding that the court of appeals’ decision to uphold the sentence was also sound.
Addressing Tinubu’s pardon, Adumein ruled that it was “improper” for the executive power to issue a pardon while an appeal remained pending.
Sanda was the daughter-in-law of a former chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Nigeria’s second-biggest party, according to Punch.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
