Deborah Akinyosoye
The Supreme Court, on Friday, reaffirmed the death sentence that was handed to the daughter-in-law of a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Maryam Sanda, for committing culpable homicide.
An Abuja high court had, on January 27, 2020, sentenced her to death by hanging after she was found guilty of stabbing her husband, Bilyamin Bello, to death at their Abuja residence in 2017.
Though she had already spent about six years and eight months at the Suleja prison, President Bola Tinubu, in the exercise of his executive powers, reduced her total sentence to 12 years.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, explained that her inclusion in the recent presidential pardon was based on “compassionate ground and in the best interest of the children,” listing some of the qualities that earned her clemency to include “good conduct, embraced new lifestyle, model to prisoners and remorsefulness.”
Meanwhile, a five-member panel of justices of the apex court, in a split judgement of four to one, on Friday, restated the judicial pronouncement that ordered her death by hanging.
The court resolved all the issues she raised to set aside her conviction and sentence against her and dismissed her appeal for want of merit.
In the lead verdict that was delivered by Justice Moore Adumein, the apex court held that the prosecution established her guilt beyond every reasonable doubt.
It held that the Court of Appeal’s decision that upheld the sentence that was passed by the trial court was unassailable.
The Supreme Court held that it was wrong for President Tinubu, being the head of the executive arm of the government, to seek to exercise his powers to grant pardon over a case of culpable homicide, in respect of which an appeal was pending.