The Supreme Court has set aside the presidential clemency recently granted to Maryam Sanda and has affirmed the death sentence earlier handed to her for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
In its landmark judgment delivered on Friday, the apex court ruled that the presidential pardon was invalid, stressing that executive powers cannot override a valid conviction affirmed by the courts. The decision effectively returns Sanda to death row five years after she was originally sentenced by an FCT High Court.
Sanda was found guilty in 2020 of killing her husband during a domestic altercation in Abuja, a case that drew widespread attention across the country. Her legal team had exhausted multiple appeals before the unexpected presidential pardon, which has now been nullified.
The ruling has sparked fresh national conversations on the boundaries of executive authority, judicial finality, and the application of capital punishment in Nigeria.
