In a landmark ruling that has challenged the limits of executive power, the Supreme Court on Friday nullified President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s pardon of Maryam Sanda and reinstated her death sentence for the 2017 murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
The Apex Court, in a four-to-one split decision, dismissed Sanda’s appeal and affirmed that she should be executed by hanging for the brutal killing of her husband during a domestic dispute. The ruling directly contradicts the presidential pardon granted in October 2025, which had reduced her sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on what the administration termed “compassionate grounds.”
Justice Moore Adumein, who delivered the lead judgment, declared that the prosecution had successfully proved the case of culpable homicide beyond reasonable doubt. He upheld the decisions of both the Federal Capital Territory High Court, which initially imposed the death sentence in 2020, and the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had affirmed that judgment.
In a striking rebuke to the executive branch, Justice Adumein addressed the constitutional implications of the presidential intervention, stating: “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.”
The court methodically examined all issues raised in Sanda’s appeal and resolved each one against her, declaring the entire appeal to be without merit. The judgment effectively strips away the compassionate reduction granted by the Federal Government and restores the original conviction.
The ruling marks a significant assertion of judicial independence and raises important questions about the scope and timing of presidential pardons in cases where legal proceedings remain active. Maryam Sanda is now expected to return to the status of a convict awaiting execution, bringing the long-running legal saga back to where it stood before the presidential intervention.
