Press "Enter" to skip to content

With 600 Nigerians on death row across Asia, has the Federal Government kept mute?

A human rights organisation, Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), has again drawn the attention of Nigeria to the rising number of Nnigerians awaiting executions in different parts of the world.

Last year, it alerted the nation that about 300 Nigerians were on death row in various prisons across Asia. In a space of one year, the figure has doubled as more than 600 Nigerians await the hangman across South East Asia, with most of them charged with drug related offences.

The increase shows the desperation of some Nigerians to venture into the illegal narcotic trade despite stiff punishment and sophisticated technology to track down offenders.

Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia are among active routes for the illicit trade, ironically also among countries known for mandatory death sentence for trafficking in hard drugs.

According to reports, about 120 Nigerians are on death row in Chinese prisons with about 16,500 away in different prisons across the world, mostly for drug related offences.

In 2015, pleas from Nigeria, the United Nations and Amnesty International, were waved aside as four Nigerians convicted of drug trafficking alongside other nationals were executed by Indonesian government via firing squad. At the time of the plea, seven fresh cases of drug trafficking involving Nigerians had just emerged in Indonesia.

On the occasion of the World Day Against the Use of the Death Penalty,  National Coordinator LEDAP, Mr Chino Obiagwu, stated that while there is increasing concern on the number of Nigerians on death row across Asia, the Federal Government has not paid enough attention to their plight.

“Why this is a worrisome development that deserves the attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria,   most of the convicts never had the benefit of proper legal representation. They were therefore, subjected to summary trials and convicted and sentenced to death, without being given the benefit of legal counsel”.

He lamented that the application of death penalty is discriminatory in the country as it had become exclusively for the poor adding that the rich had the resources to settle the police and afford the best lawyers, who ensure they are not convicted.

Mr Obiagwu said, within two years, the group has secured acquittal for 18 death row inmates across various prisons in the country.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, has said getting the large number of Nigerians on death row across various prisons abroad repatriated home through the Prisoners Exchange Programme would be impossible as the prisoners do not meet the requirements.

 “There are bilateral agreements that we have with some countries and certainly we do try in those countries to persuade them to send these prisoners back, but a lot of them are there for capital offences.”

 “Each country has its laws and each country is sovereign.  So, we do not have any leverage in terms of influencing the laws of countries and the implementation of those laws.

With respect to the death row, in cases where Nigerians have been sentenced to death, we have always intervened to ask for commutation of the death sentence.

You can have agreements where you can have prisoner exchanges or you can have some mechanisms for after a prisoner has served a certain amount of their sentence, they could come back to their country to serve the rest.”

The Minister also reiterated the need for youths to be sensitized on the perils involved in drug trafficking, especially to countries with capital punishment for the offence.

Facebook Comments
ETN24 - Explaining the News is about putting News in the correct context to promote understanding and education. We believe News should educate, not agitate. Our dedication is to fighting Fake and Sensational News, as well as to keep an eye on the media to ensure our peace and sanity are not sold for traffic.
+ posts