Husband killer gets death sentence after 3 yrs

The Federal Capital Territory High Court, has convicted  Maryam Sanda  of killing her husband,  Bilyaminu Bello, the son of a PDP stalwart Haliru Bello.

She will die by hanging.

The Nigerian police charged Ms Sanda for culpable homicide in November 2017, and sought the death penalty against the accused in a two count charge.

Justice Yusuf Halilu said there was compelling evidence to convict the accused.

The judge dismissed Ms Sanda’s statement that her husband fell on a broken Shisha pot during a fight on the ill-fated day as a “smokescreen to deceive the court”.

He said available evidence proved that the accused stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife with intent to ” kill”.

As the judge pronounced Ms Sanda guilty, the accused attempted to run out of the court room while her relatives started shouting.

But order was quickly restored and the sentence was handed down.

The trial began almost three years ago, with delays, multiple adjournments and failure of witnesses to appear in court.