“What the Supreme Court Saw: The Hidden Reason Tinubu’s Mercy for Maryam Sanda Was Cancelled”
By Passman Akpos
Nigeria’s Supreme Court has nullified the presidential pardon granted to convicted husband-killer, Maryam Sanda, in a landmark ruling that pits the judiciary directly against the Executive in a rare institutional standoff.
Sanda, who was sentenced to death by hanging in 2020 for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, had her sentence commuted to 12 years imprisonment by President Bola Tinubu in October — a gesture described by the presidency as being granted on “compassionate grounds.”
But on Friday, in a dramatic 4–1 split decision, the Supreme Court struck down that pardon and restored the original death sentence, declaring that the presidential intervention was unlawful since Sanda’s appeal was still active when the pardon was issued.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Moore Adumein held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, and that both the High Court of the FCT and the Court of Appeal were correct in affirming the capital punishment.
He further criticized the timing and nature of the President’s decision, insisting that the Executive cannot override an ongoing judicial process, especially in cases involving culpable homicide.
> “It was inappropriate for the Executive to exercise its prerogative of mercy while the matter was still before the courts,” Justice Adumein said, calling Sanda’s appeal “without merit.”
The ruling represents a rare judicial override of a presidential pardon, an extraordinary moment that underlines the Supreme Court’s insistence on safeguarding due process and the separation of powers — particularly in cases involving capital punishment.
Legal analysts warn that the judgment could set a powerful precedent limiting executive clemency in ongoing criminal cases, reshaping the contours of presidential mercy powers in Nigeria.
Sanda, who has maintained her innocence since her arrest in 2017, now faces the reinstated death sentence unless future legal avenues emerge — though such options now appear severely narrowed.
