The Supreme Court has overturned the presidential pardon granted by President Bola Tinubu to Abuja-based housewife Maryam Sanda.

Sanda was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 for the killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic dispute. Recently, President Tinubu reduced her sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment on compassionate grounds.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court, in a 4–1 decision, reinstated the death sentence previously upheld by the Court of Appeal, Abuja. The Court of Appeal had earlier affirmed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court’s decision to sentence Sanda to death by hanging.

The Supreme Court dismissed all issues raised in Sanda’s appeal as lacking merit. Justice Moore Adumein, delivering the lead judgment, stated that the prosecution had proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt and affirmed that the Court of Appeal was correct in upholding the trial court’s ruling.