Supreme Court Restores Death Sentence For Maryam Sanda
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed the death sentence imposed on Maryam Sanda for the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, and voided the federal government’s decision that had reduced her punishment to 12 years in prison. The court ruled that the executive lacked the constitutional power to alter a final judgment of the Supreme Court in a capital case through prerogative of mercy. In its judgment delivered in Abuja on Friday, the apex court held that the president’s approval of a reduced sentence amounted to an unlawful interference with judicial powers. The justices maintained that once the Supreme Court has given a final decision in a criminal matter, especially one involving the death penalty, that verdict can only be revisited through the court’s own lawful procedures and not by executive action. The court restated that Sanda’s conviction for […]