BILYAMIN BELLO’S DEATH; A SOCIAL MEDIA HAZARD, HOT TEMPER OR JEALOUSY by; Lateef Isiaq Adewale


The story of a certain Maryam Sanda who took the law into her own hand, pricked her husband to death in Abuja has gone viral and continues to generate divided opinions, arguments, and debates on social media platforms, workplaces as well as households.

On November 24, 2017, the police arraigned Maryam alongside her mother (Maimuna Aliyu), brother (Aliyu Sanda) and their house help (Sadiya Aminu) on two counts of culpable homicide and an ancillary offense.
Punch newspaper gathered that Maryam was a nursing mother and also three-month pregnant when she was detained and was delivered of her second baby girl during her two years and two months’ trial.

In her own defense, Maryam claimed that her husband fell on the shards of a broken ‘sisha’ bottle during a fight between them after she challenged her late husband on the picture of a nude girl she saw on her husband’s phone.
Contrastingly, Ibrahim Mohammed, the first prosecution witness and the friend of the deceased and Usman Aliyu, the fourth prosecution witness, who were both in the house before and after police visited there, the ‘sisha bottle’ was only broken after the death of her husband. Ibrahim had earlier witnessed the scuffle between the couple and had to retrieve a knife from Maryam three or four times, thus preventing her from carrying out her threat to cut off her husband’s private parts.

Delivering the judgment recently, the high court of the federal capital territory, Abuja, presided over by Justice Yusuf Halilu convicted and sentenced Maryam Sanda to death by hanging for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello. Justice Halilu said “every available evidence” had proved that Maryam “fatally” stabbed her husband to death in Abuja on November 19, 2017.

in the ruling, Halilu said, “the concept of justice is tripled in nature, justice to the deceased, Bilyaminu, whose life was cut short in a brutal manner and whose innocent blood cries to high heavens for vengeance, justice to the perpetrators of the crime, who cannot be denied the benefit of the procedure ordained by god in the garden of Eden that is fair hearing or fair trial, justice to society whose membership has been depleted by one.

“I am left in no doubt that the defendant has not just failed but woefully failed to explain the death of the deceased bearing in mind her discredited colorfully dressed evidence

“I am more than convinced that the defendant fatally stabbed the deceased with the same knife she threatened him with which she has also mentioned in her statement to the police with the full knowledge was not just probable or certain.

“When I come to terms with the fact that the person involved here is the accused person’s lawfully married husband and who has a baby with him at the time of his gruesome murder.

“This is not just sad and unfortunate but indeed wicked. While I am in sympathy with the position of the accused person, a young mother, two children, whose father by her inhuman action sent him to an early grave, my sentiment will not go far to free the accused person from the long arm of the law. After all, it is indeed in law that sentiment has no place in the judicial process, particularly when the sentiment is against the law.

“Clearly, with every available evidence before me, I have come to the irresistible conclusion that you, Maryam Sanda, are guilty of the murder of Bilyaminu, your husband, who you indeed killed in cold blood. You are hereby convicted for the murder of Bilyaminu as charged.
Justice Halilu said the offense for which the convict was convicted being one based on section 221 of the penal code, there would be no room for “allocutus”.

“It has been said that thou, shall not kill. Whoever kills in cold blood shall die in cold blood.
“Maryam Sanda should reap what she has sown. It is blood for blood.
“She is hereby sentenced to death by hanging until she dies,” the judge said.

With all the evidence leveled against her and other considerable reasons, the law is justified, but how can other families learn and take her plight as a lesson? Many relationships have suffered, and thousands of young couples are experiencing related factors that led Maryam to be over-powered by evil on the complaints of cheating, lack of attention, impatience, misunderstanding, ill-treatment and lack of respect for the other partner.

Equally, we have heard cases of an acid attack, stabbing, hot water exchange and physical fight in some instances between wives and their husbands. Also, between concubines and the legally married wife or husband of their suitors. What about besties’ fight, harassment, violence that has ensued vs. the real fiancé or fiancée of a cheating partner out of jealousy or fear of been dominated by the other person. Could madness then be the only antidote for madness?

While the death sentence is proportional to Maryam's offense for instance, the verdict should have however reflected the affected family position and welfare of the innocent children. Despite acknowledging such need, the verdict overlooked possible consequence and further damage it may cause the two families involved which perhaps may lead to vengeance, violence and psychological trauma it may bring them. This is never to query the court order or trying to redeem her vicious temper, but again, such a sentence has come to expose the weakness of our civil law. In a case where two related individuals are involved, (husband and wife) provided they have children for instance, the law should consider the future of the children before taking any decision. If the sentence is later deliver , then ordinarily the children will grow up to live with grievances, emotional trauma and psychological disorder and they may end up finding answers to their plight from their parent’s families with blood, and blood when they are fully grown. Will the court be there to vindicate the family failed effort to convince the court from causing them double-loss or who among the families will gladly hand over their mother judgment papers to them as a memoir.

If all the Maryam excuses were lies, there is one that has the probability of being 99% true, whose wife or husband will be happy seeing nude-pictures of another lady or guy on his/her partner phones, system or on chat? Now that our society has lost the battle against immorality as social media continue to chop off our conscience. It is high time the government either ban social media or regulate it as a lasting solution to the abuse of this powerful medium.

If nude culture should be allowed to succeed without government intervention, then the society at large should be ready to witness more cases of break up, suicide, murder and encounter the unfortunate faith of Maryam Sanda and her late husband. Furthermore, The trends of opposite sex Bestie relationship has ruined many smooth affairs, on what reasons should a married woman be keeping a close relationship with another guy when her husband is hail and healthy. Many homes have turned a violent zone because of stubbornness and greediness of either of the partners to hold on to her male/female besties, Ex and flirt partners without any respect or feelings for their lover's emotion.

The fact that many of us are trying to live a way of Europeans in Africa cannot change our cultural orientation in the real term. Many people are dying in silence over emotional pretense as if nothing is wrong trusting their partners with the opposite gender at workplaces, public places or during occasions. There are people that could tolerate their wives hugging and even kissing their male friends or even his own friends but many can only act in order to allow peace at the moment and some that hot-tempered will react immediately which may end up in violence and brutality.

Realistically, Jealousy is part of a relationship, regardless of individuals involved and probably there is no other way love will be functional without any traces of jealousy between partners but it has to be minimal. For couples, nothing runs emotion faster than knowing one's partner is cheating directly or indirectly. Though the nature of jealousy varies from one relationship to another, notwithstanding there should be room for communication over whatever transpires between partners in any affair.

It may really had been best for Maryam or her late husband to walk away from one another because of their differences and some other reasons best known to them as many people suggested but the fact that they kept to each other was an indication that love was never an issue between them and according to the report, she just got her second pregnant for late Bilyaminu Bello.

The trends of the opposite sex Bestie relationship has ruined many smooth affairs. On what reasons should a married woman be keeping a close relationship with another guy when her husband is hail and healthy. Many homes have turned a violent zone because of the stubbornness and greediness of either of the partners to hold on to her male/female besties, ex and flirt partners without any respect or feelings for their lover’s emotion.

No matter how smooth a relationship may be in this age, there are lots of temptations that could shatter the affair within a few seconds. Before wives could successfully stop their husbands from marrying a second wife either by trick or some means but with the nature of young ladies of this age, there is no such magic that could stop a flirty husband from running side chicks. These are single ladies that just want to align with rich men, not minding being just a baby mama or sex partner as far as they are getting paid.

Is there any other market for side chicks, hookers, wanna-be(s), intimacy gadgets, party freaks, never chop ladies than social media to get customers? Guys are always cheap when they seek sexual pleasure and ladies are almost always available too, some have even resorted to marketing themselves on social media by constantly uploading their semi-nude pictures, and many will even drop their Whatsapp numbers deliberately on Facebook knowing fully well that men will turn up for hook up.

Who knows if Buliyamin Bello wouldn’t have become a dead soul by now if there was never any lady on social media sharing her nude pictures, either nothing could have instigated Maryam Sanda to think of killing her husband and one could imagine if there was no that lady who still enjoys peace of mind wherever she is after causing agony for Bilyamin and Maryam by engaging herself with another woman husband with her nudity.

In conclusion, society needs to see the case of Maryam Sanda and her late husband beyond trust issues, jealousy or temper. If only we could stop the nude culture, if only we can maintain non-compromising discipline and control our urges for everything underskirt, if only, our ladies could have a pride we can help relationship to last long and save many lives from untimely death, violence, raping, abortions, sexual enslavement and pains of heartbreak.

seek Gods face before you enter any relationship. study your partner well, satisfy and tolerate, love and care, stop unneccessary argument.

This life sha. One may never know the true character of some people, until you get very close to them or they get what they are looking for. God kept and still keeping us from toxic people. If they come one way, they will leave in 7 ways. RIP to those who died in the hands of people they loved and trusted

Inside Life. I don't support bloodshed for bloodshed. She should carry her cross, anyways.