Supreme Court overrides FG’s pardon, gives final verdict on Maryam Sanda
The Supreme Court has overturned the presidential pardon granted to an Abuja-based housewife, Maryam Sanda, by President Bola Tinubu. Sanda was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, when they were having a domestic dispute.
In his pardon list, President Tinubu reduced the sentencing to 12 years imprisonment on compassionate grounds.
Source: Twitter
However, in a fresh ruling on Friday, December 12, the Supreme Court, in a judgment of four-to-one, affirmed the death sentence handed to the Sanda by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which earlier upheld the ruling of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which sentenced her to death by hanging.
The apex court resolved all the matters she raised in the appeal that were filed against her and dismissed all of them for lack of merit.
Delivering the majority opinion, Justice Moore Adumein emphasised that the evidence clearly established Sanda's guilt in the unlawful killing, with no room for doubt. He further criticised the pardon as an improper use of executive authority, especially since it came while her appeal was still active in the matter. The lone dissenting voice came from one justice, though specifics weren't detailed in the judgment.
The Supreme Court judgment was actually in the pipeline before FG's pardon. So, the case is technically not about the pardon; the judgment just overrides/nullifies the pardon.
The Supreme Court judgment has started generating reactions from some Nigerians. Below are some of their reactions:
Pastor Bee questioned the Supreme Court's authority on presidential pardon:
"Do they have such powers to overturn a presidential pardon?"
Hassan asked the same question:
"What time Supreme Court get the power to overturn a presidential pardon in the first place?? There’s a reason it’s called presidential prerogative of mercy."
Source: Legit.ng
