Maryam Sanda: What happened in court on Monday

Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), High Court found Maryam Sanda guilty of killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.

Ms Sanda stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife with clear intent to kill, Mr Halilu said in the judgment on a two-count homicide charge brought by the Nigerian police against Ms Sanda in November 2017.

The prosecution asked for the death penalty. The judge obliged by sentencing the convict to death by hanging.

He said although the prosecution did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, as there was no other witness of the incident aside the accused and no autopsy or murder weapon tendered, the surrounding circumstances were compelling.

Justice Halilu said he reached his verdict by relying on the compelling circumstantial evidence and testimonies of the six witnesses called by the police, the relatives of the convict who cleaned up the scene of the murder; a post-mortem examination on the deceased’s corpse; and the contradictory statements of the convict.

The judge said he also relied on the “Doctrine of the Last Scene”, which stipulates that the last person at a crime scene bears full responsibility.

“It serves to buttress the finding that the defendant was the last to be seen with the deceased and therefore has full responsibility of what caused his death”, Mr Halilu who was appointed a judge at the FCT High Court in 2010 noted.

After the judge found her guilty and was about to deliver sentence, Ms Sanda forced her way out of the dock and burst into tears, screaming “Who will take care of my daughter?”

She was headed for the balcony before she was restrained by security officials.

Her relatives, in turn, started shouting, causing an uproar.

In the midst of the commotion, the judge called a short break to restore calm before the sentence was delivered.

Ms Sanda’s was shaking violently as the judge was reading her sentence. Mr Halilu said surrounding circumstances proved that the defendant fatally injured the deceased by stabbing him in the heart and other body parts with a kitchen knife with intent “to kill”.

He said the attack was premeditated. Mr Halilu said though the accused is a mother of two, his sentiment will not go far to free her from the long arms of the law.

“You, Maryam Sanda is found guilty of the murder of Bilyaminu Bello and are hereby sentenced to death by hanging.”

Ms Sanda covered her face with a black veil as prison wardens dragged her out of the courtroom after the judge rose.