Nigeria’s Supreme Court has delivered a landmark judgment, reversing the presidential pardon earlier granted to Maryam Sanda and reinstating the death penalty previously imposed on her for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
Sanda, an Abuja homemaker, was convicted in 2020 by an FCT High Court after the court found her guilty of fatally stabbing Bello during a domestic dispute. Her conviction, upheld by the Court of Appeal, had initially culminated in a sentence of death by hanging.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu later intervened, commuting the capital punishment to a 12-year prison term on humanitarian grounds. The decision sparked nationwide debate, especially as her appeal was still pending before the Supreme Court.
In a sharply split 4–1 decision delivered on December 12, 2025, the Supreme Court overturned the presidential reprieve and reinstated the original death sentence. The apex court dismissed Sanda’s final appeal in its entirety, ruling that the arguments presented lacked merit and failed to undermine the lower courts’ findings.
Justice Moore Adumein, who delivered the majority judgment, stressed that the evidence against Sanda was overwhelming and left “no room for reasonable doubt.” He further criticized the timing and legality of the presidential pardon, describing it as an inappropriate exercise of executive power while a murder appeal was still active.
Although one justice dissented, the details of the minority opinion were not elaborated upon in the judgment.
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The ruling effectively brings the long-running legal battle to a close, reaffirming the authority of the judicial process and raising fresh conversations about executive powers, criminal justice, and the limits of presidential clemency in Nigeria.