The Nigerian Police has asked the Appeal Court of the Abuja Division to affirm the death sentence passed on Mariam Sanda, who the trial court found guilty of killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.
Justice Yusuf Halilu of an FCT High Court, had on January 27, 2020, found Sanda guilty of stabbing her husband with a kitchen knife with intent to kill. She was sentenced to death accordingly.
The judge arrived at the verdict by relying on what he agreed to be compelling circumstantial evidence and testimonies of the six witnesses called by the police.
The witnesses include 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”, Justice Halilu held.
Meanwhile, reacting to an appeal lodged by the convict to upturn her conviction, the police prayed the court to uphold the death sentence.
In its brief of argument filed in response to the appeal filed by Sanda’s legal team led by Joe Kyari Gadzama (SAN), the police submitted that the trial court was right in finding Sanda guilty of willfully murdering her husband in cold blood.
According to the police counsel, James Idachaba, the trial judge properly evaluated the evidence before him in reaching the decision to find Sanda guilty and impose the punishment as provided by statute.
He argued that to set-aside the decision of the trial court would amount to giving an incentive to angry and unhappy spouses to take the life of their partners at will.
He said the law was meant to serve as a deterrent to others who wish to commit the crime of culpable homicide, adding that a reversal of the judgment of the trial court would surely defeat the purpose of the law.
He said Sanda was guilty of taking her husband’s life and therefore deserving of the death penalty imposed on her.
He described Sanda’s appeal as baseless, frivolous and lacking in merit, praying the Court of Appeal to dismiss it with cost.
However, Sanda’s lawyers in the appeal held that the judgment was flawed as the charge of murder was not proven beyond reasonable doubt, and therefore want the Appeal Court to set sside the judgment and free the convict.
