International human rights groups working in Nigeria have called for an abolition of the death penalty from Nigeria corpus juris noting Nigeria harbours the largest number of death row inmates in the region.
The group composed of the Avocats Sans Frontières France, the Ambassade de France in Nigeria, the Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Nigeria and the Institut Français du said death penalty should not be mistaken for a stance for unaccountability for crimes committed.
A joint statement reaffirmed the Organisations' opposition to the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and called for worldwide abolition of the death penalty.
"The death penalty is a gross violation of fundamental human rights; it is inhumane, cruel, and degrading. No state should have the power to take a person's life. The death penalty disproportionately affects the most vulnerable of the society, who most times lack the resources to engage the services of a lawyer. Justice should never be to the disadvantage of the less privileged.
"Studies (by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty) have also revealed that the death penalty doesn't serve as a deterrent, it doesn't stop crimes from re-occurring. What is worse about the death penalty is that it is absolute, it cannot be undone, even in the emergence of new evidence exonerating the convicted."
While the Statement did not entirely rule out punitive measures for wrong deeds, it, however, revealed that the death penalty has been proven ineffective and doesn't serve as a deterrent, adding that countries with the death penalty in full force continue to experience a prevalent rate of crime.
"In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of person's on death row currently stands at 5,841. With 3,036 deathrow inmates, Nigeria represents over 52 per cent of the total number. This shows that efforts to end the death penalty in Nigeria must be reinvigorated.
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The Statement lauded Nigéria for the great stride against the death penalty since 2016 but called on the Government to do more by putting in place an official moratorium as a first step towards abolition.
"Nigeria is urged to join the growing list of African nations who have abolished the death penalty such as Rwanda, Burundi, Togo, Gabon, Benin, Congo, Madagascar, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad and Sierra Leone," the Statement read.
Observed every 10th of October, the World Day Against the Death Penalty consolidates the global movement against capital punishment and mobilizes civil society, political leaders, activists, lawyers, change agents and more to support the call for universal abolition of capital punishment.
The day presents an opportunity to spotlight the death penalty thematic across the world and consolidate the general awareness of the worldwide movement against the death penalty.
