Advocates Sans Frontiers (ASF) France, better known as Lawyers Without Borders has called on the federal government to abolish the death penalty in Nigeria.
It said Nigeria has the highest number of people awaiting death penalty in sub-Saharan Africa with over 3600 on death row.
Ita Country Director, Mrs. Angela Uzoma- Iwuchukwu made the call at 2024 World Day Against Death Penalty in Abuja.
She expressed concern over the growing number of inmates on death row in Nigeria.
Angela said: “The death penalty doesn’t serve as a deterrent as it’s widely misconceived. It does not deter crime, it is obsolete and it is used proportionately against the poor because the rich pay their way out of the justice system because we really have a flaw in the justice system in Nigeria. And that means you don’t find the rich being held accountable for their crime.”
Also, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Anthony Ojukwu condemned the death penalty in totality.
Ojukwu who was represented by Director, Legal, Hajia Rabi Anwar described death penalty as a form of state-sanctioned violence.
She states: “The death penalty, as a form of state-sanctioned violence, is not only irreversible but fraught with the potential for irreparable harm.
“We cannot ignore the growing body of evidence that shows capital punishment does not serve as a deterrent to crime. It perpetuates a cycle of violence and undermines our collective effort to build a society based on justice, fairness and respect for human life.
“The National Human Rights Commission is steadfast in its commitment to advocating for the abolition of the death penalty in Nigeria. This commitment is not only a reflection of our mandate to uphold the right to life as enshrined in both Constitution and international Human Rights Treaties but also of our belief in the capacity of our justice system to adopt more humane, just and unjust and effective alternatives to the death penalty.”
On his part, the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Leilani Bin Juda also advocated for the full abolition of the death penalty in Nigeria.
He noted that there was no empirical evidence to suggest that the death penalty deters crime or makes communities any safer.
Juda stressed that Australia considers death penalty to be cruel and inhuman punishment which is degrading to the individual and brutalised our societies as a whole.