Nigeria: Appeal for a moratorium on executions

In Nigeria, no executions were carried out during 2004 and the first seven months of 2005, however death sentences continue to be imposed both by the high courts and by Sharia (Islamic law) courts in northern Nigeria. There are serious concerns that, in death penalty cases, the courts in Nigeria continue to fall below international standards for fair trials and due process.In October 2004, the National Study Group on the Death Penalty, established by President Obasanjo, published the recommendation that there be a moratorium on executions until the Nigerian justice system could guarantee fair trials and due process. The Nigerian Government has, instead, retreated from a moratorium and abolition. For example, in July 2005, the Committee on Judicial and Legal Reform of the National Political Reform Conference recommended that the death penalty be applied to juveniles sentenced for "heinous crimes". Furthermore, a report issued by the presidential committee regarding prisoners on death row, which was leaked to the media, reportedly recommended that all State governors who have such prisoners "should, as a matter of urgency, take necessary steps to execute the death sentences, or, alternatively, commute such sentences in order to decongest the prisons."In July 2005, President Obasanjo reshuffled the cabinet and named Chief Bayo Ojo, former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, to the position of Federal Minister of Justice.Amnesty International is urging the new Minister of Justice to ensure that legislation on a moratorium is enacted urgently as a first step towards complete abolition of the death penalty for all crimes in Nigeria .

TAKE ACTION:

Write a polite letter. We suggest that you include the following information:ask that the Government of Nigeria impose a moratorium on all pending executions, as recommended by the National Study Group on the Death Penalty in its final report and recommendations of November 2004;point out that the death penalty violates the right to life and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment;state that the death penalty in Nigeria also violates the right to be free from discrimination, freedom of expression and association and the right to privacy as it penalizes consensual sexual behavior under the new Sharia penal legislation's introduced since 1999;urge that, pending abolition, the Federal Government and the appropriate judicial bodies should ensure all defendants in capital cases enjoy all the fair trial and due process safeguards as set out in the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty;point out that a moratorium on the death penalty in Nigeria would be a welcome sign of the Government’s commitment to join the worldwide and African trend to put an end to this ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

WRITE TO:

Chief Bayo Ojo, Minister of Justice Attorney-Generals Chambers Federal Secretariat Complex, 10th Floor Shehu Shagari Way, P.M.B 192, Abuja, NIGERIA Fax: + 234 09 5235208

Sample Letter :

Honorable Minister,In connection with World Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October, I am appealing to your government to impose a moratorium on all pending executions, as recommended by the National Study Group on the Death Penalty in its final report and recommendations of November 2004.I believe that the death penalty violates the right to life and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. In its application in Nigeria it also violates the right to be free from discrimination, freedom of expression and association and the right to privacy as it penalizes consensual sexual behavior under the new Sharia penal legislation's introduced since 1999.I also urge you that, pending abolition, the Federal Government and the appropriate judicial bodies should ensure all defendants in capital cases enjoy all the fair trial and due process safeguards as set out in the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty.Africa is clearly on its way to universal abolition of the death penalty. Twelve of the 53 countries on the continent have permanently abolished the death penalty while another 20 countries have not carried out executions for more than 10 years. The imposition of a moratorium on the death penalty in Nigeria would be a welcome sign of your government’s commitment to join the worldwide and African trend to put an end to this ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.Sincerely,Over 38 organizations, including Amnesty International, have come together to form the World Coalition against the Death Penalty. Each year the Coalition organizes a day of action - World Day Against the Death Penalty - on 10 October. This year the action will be focusing on Africa. To find out more and get involved go to www.worldcoalition.org© AI

This is an older post but I am sure it still a much needed action. As times goes on more and more soldiers and armies fighting against the death penalty surface. It wasn't long ago I felt I stood alone on the front lines fighting for prisoners rights to live. If as much time, energy and money was put into rehabilitating people oppose to destroying them within the confines of modern concentration camps this country may not be in so much of a mess. The aftermath of the games politicians have been playing for the past 30 years using crime to win elections is seldom looked at. Think about it for a moment. We have over 2.3 million people in prison. How many people are in turn effected by such an enormous prison population. The parents, the siblings, the spouses, the children and extended family members as well as friends. We are talking about millions of people here, numbers that are larger than the populations of a hand full of European countries. The killing needs to stop. Mass incarceration needs to stop. We need unity.
This battle is well over 200 years old. I am sure I will find evidence that the fight against the death penalty is older, but I do possess a book by Marquis Beccaria "Dei delitti e delle pene". English: An essay on crimes and punishments. Originally published in Italian in 1764 Marquis Beccaria was from Milan. He wrote how in his point of view the death penalty served no purpose.

The momentum is picking up, but with lives at stake, over 3000 in the US alone, it just never seems to be moving fast enough. It's time for some real action. In Struggle. "X"