The Supreme Court of Nigeria has annulled the presidential pardon given to Maryam Sanda and reinstated the death sentence initially imposed on her for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
Sanda was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging by an FCT High Court in 2020, a decision that was later upheld by the Court of Appeal. President Bola Tinubu had previously commuted her sentence to 12 years in prison on humanitarian grounds.
In a 4–1 ruling delivered on December 12, 2025, the Supreme Court rejected her final appeal, asserting that the pardon was improperly granted while her case was still pending in court. Justice Moore Adumein, who authored the lead judgment, emphasized that the evidence against her was compelling and left no room for doubt regarding her guilt. He also clarified that the executive branch cannot interfere in a homicide case that is still under judicial review. One justice expressed a dissenting opinion, although the specifics of that position were not revealed.
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