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| Death penalty in Nigeria: An evaluation of the arguments for and against its abolition. |
 PRINTABLE VERSION |
For lastl, there is the argument that the Nigerian state is not yet ripe for the abolition of the death penalty considering the poor state administration and present facilities of prisons in the country.
:: Arguments Against The Retention Of Death Penalty In Nigeria
On the other side, a side which I reckon, there is the arguments that the death penalty has proven over the years to be ineffective in deterring criminals in Nigeria. It has been attractively argued that the Nigerian police and judicial system should be blamed for the increased crime rate in Nigeria. Indeed, the Nigerian police force is scarcely equipped to deal with the high incidence of crimes across Nigeria. Ours is a police force that would arrest a whole neighbourhood in trying to solve the theft of a car. Sadly, the Nigerian police force is still far from great advantages of scientific innovations in the world of crime prevention, investigation and control. In the same vein, the plight of our judicial officers is to say at least heartbreaking. The years of neglect by successive military regimes and the seeming inability of government to improve allocations to the justice sector has left the justice ministries in a poor state of affairs.
It has also been argued that from the fact that human nature is fallible it's inevitable that errors can be committed by the judiciary in convicting an accused. Because of the irrevocability of the result in the case of judicial error, abolition is the only way to ensure that such mistakes do not occur. In this regard, the case of Boudunrin Barinwa readily comes to mind. He was acquitted by the court of appeal after a total of 16 years in prison. He had been sentenced to death by a high court for murder after he had reported finding a dead body near his premises.
No doubt, a morally decadent society like Nigeria can only breed decadent people. A society which parades an army of unemployed youths, where government officials at every level enrich themselves while in office at the expenses of the electorate, where social infrastructure and amenities are lacking is a doomed society. These conditions breed criminal activities. This therefore suggests that there is a stronger link between taking the social and economic needs of citizens seriously and a low crime rate than there is between death penalty and a low crime rate.
:: Conclusion
Many countries in the world are gradually abolishing the death penalty or at least observing a moratorium on it. Nigeria should join the trend by expunging without equivocation the death sentence from its laws. It is my contention that if the Nigerian government lives up to its responsibilities of providing basic amenities and creating jobs opportunities, crime rate in Nigeria would drop considerably. As stated above, there is a stronger link between taking the social and economic needs of citizens seriously and a low crime rate than there is between death penalty and low crime rate.
It has been observed that the application of the death penalty itself is a failure of justice and is usually accompanied and compounded by a host of systemic breakdown including unfair trials which can lead to the execution of innocent, mentally ill or child offenders. Therefore, the time to act is now.
Chinedum Umeche
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umeche, chinedum ikenna
CHINEDUM UMECHE is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He is a memeber of Amnesty International, London and The Young International Arbitration Group of the London Court of International Arbitration. He currently works with G. E. Ezomo and Co, a law firm in Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria.
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Comments
Death penalty in Nigeria- Armed robbers plight Adesina-Okunade A Sam | Dec 13th, 2007
I will like to say that the Nigerian government should consider the revision of death penalty for armed robbers. This is not because I am one of them or that I have a close relation who engages in such but for the mere fact that the Nigerian Justice code to an extent is lopesided. The politicians steal in millions and billions and also go to the extent of killing anyone perceived to have the knowledge of their nefarious actions yet they go scot free. The latest trend now is for a government office holder to steal as much as possible and after being arrainged will opt for A PLEA BARGAIN!. Then why should a youth whose right entitlement has been stolen and was forced into robbery be killed over a loot that is sometimes not up to $1000?. Am not encouraging robbery but am saying that anybody that is caught stealing by any means should be made to face the music-preferably jail terms and not death penalty!
the death penalty Rotimi O. Obafemi | Dec 14th, 2007
personally, i think the issue of the death penalty has been widely undebated locally for a while. while i'm particularly not always interested in the issue, i think the death penalty should be totally deleted from our statutes book.
though in fairness to the judiciary, there hasn't been any case of invoking the death penalty for at least eight years...but the truth remains that the death penalty has outlived its relevance within the criminal justice system.
the death penalty Rotimi O. Obafemi | Dec 14th, 2007
personally, i think the issue of the death penalty has been widely undebated locally for a while. while i'm particularly not always interested in the issue, i think the death penalty should be totally deleted from our statutes book.
though in fairness to the judiciary, there hasn't been any case of invoking the death penalty for at least eight years...but the truth remains that the death penalty has outlived its relevance within the criminal justice system.
Nigeria is behind schedule Ndukwe Psalms | May 1st, 2011
Life is basis of all other right upon which other rights are predicated on and should not be qualified.If one is sentenced to death,he is divested of every other rights because of a single act of his/her life.It is unjustifiable and therefore should be abrogated.
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