ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence earlier handed to Maryam Sanda, daughter-in-law of a former PDP Chairman, after finding her guilty of culpable homicide in the killing of her husband, Bilyamin Bello.
In a split decision of four to one, the five-member panel reaffirmed the trial court’s order sentencing Sanda to death by hanging.
The apex court dismissed her appeal in its entirety, ruling that none of the issues she raised could dislodge the findings of the lower courts.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Moore Adumein held that prosecutors proved their case beyond reasonable doubt and that the Court of Appeal was right to affirm the conviction.
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The court also faulted President Bola Tinubu’s earlier attempt to grant her a pardon while the matter was still under appeal.
Sanda was convicted by an Abuja High Court on January 27, 2020, for fatally stabbing her husband during a domestic dispute in 2017.
She had already spent about six years and eight months in Suleja prison when President Tinubu, exercising executive powers, intervened to reduce her sentence to 12 years.
The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), later clarified that the clemency was granted on compassionate grounds and in the best interest of the children.
He cited her “good conduct, renewed lifestyle, positive influence on inmates, and remorsefulness” as factors that influenced the decision.