Lagos — A civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has asked the Acting Chairperson of the Africa Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Bahame Tom Mukirya Nyanduga, to urgently restrain Libya from executing Nigerians on death row.

In a request for provisional measures dated September 6, 2009 and signed by SERAP's solicitor, Mr Femi Falana, the organisation urged the Africa Commission to "urgently invoke Article 111 (Rule of Procedure) authority to request that Libya adopt provisional measures in order to stop the irreparable damage that would be caused to the Complainants and their African Charter rights."

In the request for provisional measures which was submitted in conjunction with SERAP's communication to the Africa Commission, the organisation argued that the prisoners were not denuded of their rights by mere conviction, adding that carried out, their death sentences would amount to inhuman or degrading treatment.

It stated that given the climate of persistent and long standing human rights violations in Libya and the impunity of perpetrators, an urgent intervention by the Africa Commission was required to protect the complainants against irreparable damage.

The organization therefore asked the Africa Commission to grant provisional measures requesting Libya to immediately remove the complainants from death row or any risk of execution and accord them their fair trial and other human rights, pending the commission's decision.

It also urged to extract assurances from the Libyan government that the Nigerians and others on death row and in dehumanising and harsh conditions across Libyan prisons will not be secretly executed; and to independently investigate whether the Nigerians on death row received fair trial and other international human rights guarantees applicable to their situation.

"Unless the African Commission urgently intervenes in this case, there was a risk of irreversible denial of the Complainants' rights, which in turn will render nugatory the resolutions on moratorium on executions by the African Commission and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly," the organisation concluded.