June 24
NIGERIA----executions
Nigeria hangs 4 prisoners in 1st executions since 2006
Nigerian authorities on Monday hanged 4 prisoners, an official said, in what
was believed to be the country's 1st known executions since 2006, drawing
outrage from rights activists.
The justice commissioner in Edo state in southern Nigeria confirmed the hanging
of the 4 prisoners, who had been convicted of either armed robbery or murder,
he said.
According to the commissioner, all their appeals had been exhausted and their
death warrants were signed.
"The court gave the judgement this afternoon that the execution could go ahead
and the prison authority went ahead," Henry Idahagbon told AFP.
He added that the executions were carried out by the prison service, a federal
agency, and not the state government.
However, he said he was informed by prison authorities of the executions. Edo
state Governor Adams Oshiomhole signed two of the death warrants since the
crimes occurred in Edo, said Idahagbon, as required by law.
Governors from elsewhere signed the 2 other death warrants, he said. Since the
prison system is federal, prisoners can be moved elsewhere in the country.
A 5th prisoner is also due to be executed, but his sentence dated back to the
military era that ended in 1999 and called for him to be killed by firing
squad, which prison authorities were not yet prepared to do, he said.
Nigeria has faced international scrutiny over its death penalty, with concerns
over whether suspects receive a fair trial in a country where corruption is
widespread.
While they would mark the 1st official, known executions since 2006, Nigerian
security forces have been repeatedly accused of extra-judicial killings during
that time period.
Amnesty International said in a statement that it had received "credible
reports that authorities in the state of Edo ... have hanged four men in Benin
City Prison on Monday -- the first known executions in the country since 2006."
"If confirmed, these executions mark a sudden, brutal return to the use of the
death penalty in Nigeria, a truly dark day for human rights in the country,"
Amnesty deputy director for Africa, Lucy Freeman, said in the statement
The human rights organisation urged Nigerian authorities to stop all executions
immediately and "return to the moratorium on executions in the country."
"We oppose the death penalty in all cases without exception, as it is the
ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment," it said.
President Goodluck Jonathan recently called on state governors to sign death
warrants, saying it was their responsibility under the law, according to local
media reports.
According to Amnesty, around 1,000 people are thought to be on death row in
Africa's largest oil producer and most populous nation.
(source: Yahoo.com)
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