The Supreme Court of Nigeria has overturned the presidential pardon previously granted to Maryam Sanda and reinstated the death sentence originally imposed for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
Sanda was convicted by an FCT High Court in 2020 and sentenced to death by hanging, a judgment that was later upheld by the Court of Appeal.
President Bola Tinubu subsequently commuted the sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on humanitarian grounds.
In a 4–1 decision delivered on December 12, 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed Sanda’s final appeal, ruling that the presidential pardon was invalid because it was issued while her case was still pending in court.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Moore Adumein held that the evidence against Sanda was conclusive and left no reasonable doubt regarding her guilt.
The court further emphasised that the executive branch has no authority to intervene in a homicide case still undergoing judicial review. One justice dissented to the judgment, although the details of the minority opinion were not made public.
