The Supreme Court has overturned President Bola Tinubu’s decision to commute the death sentence of Maryam Sanda, ruling that the executive acted outside its constitutional powers by issuing clemency while her appeal was still pending.
In a split decision of 4–1 delivered on Friday, the apex court affirmed the initial death sentence handed to Sanda by an Abuja Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court later upheld by the Court of Appeal for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, during a domestic altercation in their Abuja residence in 2017.
Reading the lead judgment, Justice Moore Adumein held that the prosecution had proven the charge of culpable homicide beyond reasonable doubt, adding that the lower courts were correct in affirming the conviction.
“The Executive was wrong to exercise the power of pardon over a case of culpable homicide in which an appeal was still subsisting,” Justice Adumein ruled, declaring the presidential intervention invalid.
The court’s decision effectively reinstates Sanda’s death sentence.
Sanda’s sentence had been reduced to 12 years’ imprisonment in October after President Tinubu approved a revised clemency list. The Presidency said at the time that the commutation was based on “compassionate grounds,” including the welfare of her children and her “remorsefulness” while in custody.
The clemency followed a review of an initial 175-name list, which was later pruned after concerns from the Council of State and public backlash, particularly from the family of the late Bello.
Presidential Adviser Bayo Onanuga said the revisions removed individuals convicted of severe crimes such as kidnapping, drug trafficking and illegal arms dealing.
The ruling adds new scrutiny to the scope of presidential powers under Section 175 of the Constitution, which grants the President authority to grant pardons or commute sentences. The Supreme Court held that such powers cannot be exercised in cases still undergoing judicial review.
Sanda has spent about six years in custody, and with the commuted sentence, she would have had roughly six more years to serve. The Supreme Court’s decision now nullifies that arrangement completely.