In a landmark decision testing the limits of executive clemency and judicial authority, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has nullified the pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu to Maryam Sanda, who was convicted of killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
In a split judgment delivered on Friday, the court affirmed the original death sentence handed down to Sanda.
Maryam Sanda, an Abuja-based housewife, was sentenced to death in 2020 by an FCT High Court after being found guilty of stabbing her husband during a domestic dispute in 2017. The Court of Appeal later upheld the conviction, sparking nationwide debate on domestic violence and justice.
The constitutional debate intensified when President Tinubu, invoking the executive power of mercy, reduced Sanda’s sentence to 12 years imprisonment on “compassionate grounds” and “the best interest of the children.” This act of clemency was issued while her final appeal was still pending before the Supreme Court.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court, by a four-to-one majority, dismissed Sanda’s appeal for lacking merit and upheld the previous decisions. Justice Moore Adumein, who delivered the lead judgment, stated that the prosecution had proven the charge of culpable homicide beyond reasonable doubt, justifying the affirmation of the lower courts’ verdicts.
Significantly, the court held that the President’s attempt to grant pardon while the appeal was still active was constitutionally improper. Justice Adumein noted that executive mercy cannot be exercised in a capital case until the judicial process has run its full course.
The ruling underscores the need to respect the separation of powers and reinforces that executive interventions must not interfere with ongoing judicial proceedings.
