By Linus Aleke

The Avocats Sans Frontieres, France, otherwise known as Lawyers without Borders has taken a bold step to stop the use of torture, by officers and men of the Nigerian Police and other security agencies to extract evidence from crimes suspects.

To this end, the organization is building the capacity of criminal defence lawyers in Abuja, as part of activities lined up to commemorate the World Day Against Death Penalty 2022.

Speaking at the event jointly organized by EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, France Embassy, Institut Francis Du Nigeria and German Embassy in Nigeria, the Country Director, Avocats Sans Frontieres, France, Ms. Angela Uzoma- Iwuchukwu decried the lack of political will to implement the Anti Torture Act, which came into force in 2017.

Noting that torture is still prevalent in Nigerian system and used regularly by the security agents, Iwuchukwu, added that it is almost institutionalized in the criminal justice system in Nigeria.

“As we speak someone in some police station is been tortured, not just someone people, detainees, and suspects of crime are been tortured in various police stations across the country, that is the sad reality,” she said.

She observed that before 2017, torture was prohibited by Nigerian constitution but was not criminalized.

She said, “There has been zero implemention of the anti torture act. This is the same conversation we are having in a project funded by European Union (EU), we are engaging the Attorney General of the Federation. A committee have been set up which we are part of effort to ensure prosecution of indicted police officers, starting with those indicted by various panels that investigated the endsars”.

She said, the capacity building for the criminal defence lawyers lawyers, was one of the techniques, Avocats Sans Frontieres, France, also adopts in its campaign against the death penalty.

She noted that as an organization, they provide legal aids to persons on death row, stressing, “beyond that, we also equip other lawyers to be able to do the same”.

She said that when ASF France call for abolition of the death penalty, “we are actually promoting respect for the right to life”.

Iwuchukwu disclosed that Torture and death penalty are the major thematic area that Avocats Sans Frontiers, France, has been working on in Nigeria.

The theme of this year’s celebration is, “a death penalty, a road paved with torture”.

In a goodwill message, the Head of EU Cooperation, Mrs. Cecile Tassin Pelzer said, EU has a strong and indisputable opposition to the death penalty, at all times, and in all circumstances.

She said, the poor are exposed more to the death penalty, because they can often not afford experienced criminal defence lawyers.

Mrs. Pelzer concluded that abolition of death penalty is a key objective in the EU’s human rights policy.

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Available statistics reveals that the five countries that executed the most in the world in 2021 are in the following order: China, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

Progress towards abolition has been made through the adoption of international treaties, where states pledge not to use capital punishment.