The Supreme Court has voided the pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu to Abuja-based housewife, Maryam Sanda.
Sanda was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 for the killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic altercation.
The presidency had recently disclosed that President Tinubu reduced her sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on compassionate grounds.
In a judgement delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court, in a four-to-one split decision, reinstated the death sentence earlier affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
The Court of Appeal had previously upheld the ruling of an Abuja High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, which convicted Sanda and ordered her execution by hanging.
The apex court addressed all the issues raised in Sanda’s appeal and dismissed the case, declaring it lacking in merit.
Justice Moore Adumein, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, adding that the Court of Appeal acted rightly in affirming the trial court’s decision.
