Supreme Court affirms death sentence for Maryam Sanda, after Tinubu nearly freed her by pardon

The Supreme Court, on Friday, upheld the death sentence imposed on murder convict Maryam Sanda, who was just about seven weeks ago on the verge of being freed after President Bola Tinubu controversially pardoned her and a host of other convicts, including drug peddlers.

Mr Tinubu drew public outrage in October for granting pardon to drug barons and Ms Sanda, who was found guilty and sentenced to death in January 2020 for stabbing her husband Bilyaminu Bello to death in Abuja eight years ago, in 2017.

The president, in response to widespread rebuke, partially reversed the pardon decision. He removed the convicted drug peddlers from the pardon list and commuted Ms Sanda’s death penalty to 12 years’ imprisonment, of which she already served almost six years.

On 27 January 2020, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja convicted and sentenced her to death for killing her husband during a domestic dispute.

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Displeased with the judgement, she went on appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which delivered its judgement on 4 December 2020, affirming her conviction and sentence.

The Supreme Court, in a 4-1 majority judgement of its five-member panel on Friday, also affirmed the decisions of the lower courts.

A member of the panel, Moore Adumein, who read the lead majority judgment, held that the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt as required.

He added that the Court of Appeal was right to have earlier upheld the judgment of the trial court.

The judge criticised President TInubu for the prerogative of mercy exercised in favour of the murder convict.

Mr Adumein held that it was wrong for the president to seek to grant a pardon to the convict in a culpable homicide case, in respect of which an appeal was still pending.

The Supreme Court resolved all the issues raised in her appeal against her and dismissed the appeal for being without merit.

Reign of arbitrariness

Friday’s judgement, which brings Ms Sanda’s appeal processes to a close, highlights deep flaws, including arbitrariness, inequality before the law, and little regard for judicial process, in the nation’s criminal justice system and governance in general.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja earlier affirmed the death penalty on 4 December 2020.

The concurrent affirmation of the conviction and sentence by the Supreme Court on Friday shows the sheer weight of evidence against her.

Also, her dogged pursuit of her appeals, in the face of overwhelming evidence against her, all the way to the highest court, highlights a lack of remorse, a cardinal consideration in granting pardon to convicts.

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The inconsistencies and arbitrariness in the use of legal authority are stark, as nearly 70 percent of Nigerian prison populations consist of inmates awaiting trial, many of whom have already spent more time in custody than they would have if convicted and sentenced.

Following the outcry generated by Mr Tinubu’s exercise of prerogative mercy, he directed that a guideline should be put in place to guide future process.