Day death penalty debate returned to the fore

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Access to Justice, Legal Development and Advancement Programme (LEDAP) and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) who participated in the commemoration, said right to life is a universal right. But those canvassing for retention of the death penalty insist the measure is legal, […]

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Access to Justice, Legal Development and Advancement Programme (LEDAP) and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) who participated in the commemoration, said right to life is a universal right.

But those canvassing for retention of the death penalty insist the measure is legal, having been provided in section 33(1) of the 1999 constitution. They insist it serves as deterrence to crimes. They also say the penalty is in line with the African culture.
The Edo State government on June 24 executed four death row inmates. The persons hanged were convicted for armed robbery and murder. Many states are said to be gearing to sign execution warrants for convicts sentenced to death.
The rights groups agreed that capital punishment is dehumanising and mostly applied disproportionally. They also argue that it might lead to miscarriage of justice. They further said  the elite have not been caught in the capital punishment radar.
“The death penalty is targeted against the poor. The closest we have come is that of Hamza Al-Mustapha and Reverend King. This is why we want the moratorium put in place,” Kunle Ogunbiyi, senior legal manager ASFF said.
Speaking on the topic: ‘Stop Crimes Not Lives,’ ASFF’s head of office Angela Uwandu drew attention to female nursing mothers on death row across the country. She referred to the case of Maimuna Abdulmumini, a death row nursing mother in a Katsina prison.

In his address, the executive secretary of the NHRC Professor Bem Angwe advocated for the abolition of the death penalty. He said the pronouncement of death penalty on offenders should be reviewed on case by case basis. “That is, in the case of an armed robbery that does not result in death, the state should consider the use of other sentencing in place of death penalty.”
As the debate on the use of capital punishment rages, the real issue remains whether the measure is important on crime rate in the society. Perhaps a demonstrable research on this may go a long way in influencing legal policies in this direction.