An international human rights organisation, Advocats Sans Frontières (ASF) France, also known as Lawyers Without Borders has lamented the high number of inmates on death row in Nigerian correctional services which it puts at 3,600.
The organisation which highlighted that Nigeria holds the highest number of death row inmates in sub-Saharan Africa, emphasised that the figure has continued to increase as new death sentences are being handed down regularly.
The Country Director of ASF, Ms. Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, gave the figure in Abuja, during a high-level technical consultation, where she raised concerns over the growing number of inmates on death row in the country.
According to her, while Nigeria has observed a voluntary moratorium on executions since 2014, the absence of a formal policy leaves death row inmates vulnerable to execution at any time.
Uzoma-Iwuchukwu said, “We have around 3,600 persons on death row in Nigeria, and out of that we have about 63 women. So that’s actually a small percentage. However, there are peculiar issues that women on death row are facing, and one of them is that a lot of them ended up on death row because they fought back on the sort of abuse that they were experiencing.
“And during their trial, the spousal abuse or domestic violence was not put into consideration during their trials, and this led to their conviction and also their ending up on the death row.
“So, this is one of the reasons why it is important to bring up the issue, the gender perspective of women on death row, the peculiarities.”
The Executive Director of Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), Chinonye Obiagwu (SAN), said that Nigeria has the highest number of death row prisoners in Africa.
“Nigeria also has the highest number of offenses that carry the death penalty, and we are deeply concerned about this alarming trend”, he said.
He called on the government to abolish capital punishment.
At the event, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) joined the call for an end to the death penalty.
The Executive Secretary of NHRC, Anthony Ojukwu (SAN), emphasised the irreversible nature of capital punishment and its potential for irreparable harm, especially in cases of wrongful convictions.
“We cannot ignore the growing evidence that shows capital punishment does not deter crime. The risk of executing innocent people remains one of the greatest failures of any justice system”, Ojukwu said.
The President of NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), described the death penalty as “outdated and ineffective.”
While advising the Federal Government to review its use, he assured that the NBA would continue to advocate for reforms that ensure fair trials and humane sentencing, offering free legal services to individuals facing the death penalty.
International representatives, including the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Leilani Bin-Juda, and the Deputy Head of Mission at the French Embassy, Jean-François Hasperue, were also present at the event, signalling global support for Nigeria’s movement towards abolishing the death penalty.
Friday Olokor
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