The Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) on Thursday called for the abolition of the death penalty in Nigeria.
LEDAP made the call at a news conference in Lagos which it jointly addressed with the Human Rights Law Center (HURILAWS).
The event held to commemorate the 19th World Day Against Death Penalty was organized with the support of the World Coalition Against Death Penalty.
A Senior Programme Manager for LEDAP, Mrs. Pamela Okoroigwe, said that the organization was concerned with the role of the media in helping to drive home the quest for abolition of the death penalty.
According to her, global statistics on the death penalty show that 110 countries of the world have abolished death penalty, with the most recent being Sierra Leone.
“Research has revealed that death row inmates are exclusively poor and without legal representation, thus, rendering the use of the death penalty unfair.
”One of the major reasons death penalty should be stopped is the fact that once done, it cannot be undone, regardless of whether such a person is eventually discovered to be innocent.
“Again, research has shown that it has not helped to eradicate crime in society.
” It is now important for society to move away from retributive justice and look toward restorative justice, as a rehabilitated criminal today can make meaningful contributions to the society tomorrow.
” If the death penalty can be abolished, it will greatly serve to improve the administration of criminal justice in the country,” she said.
In his remarks, the Programme Manager of HURILAWS, Mr. Collins Okeke, said that arguments for the death penalty had been on for more than 40 years.
” This stems from the belief that such a penalty will reduce the tide of crimes, and unfortunately, it has not.
“Another perception is the popular notion of ‘tit for tat”, but sadly, this is also not always the case as it is clear that it is not always for tat, especially in our contemporary society.
“A basic question should be: How do we deal with victims of crime? Is there a way to make the person compensate the family? I think these are areas we must look into.
“We must take a holistic picture of these issues surrounding the death penalty, for it is not just a case of justice for the victim, but also justice to the society as well,” he said.
Okeke called for the strengthening of the security architecture of the country as the first step in reducing crime.
“I think we have an opportunity to address this situation and I urge us all and also call on well-meaning Nigerians as well as civil society groups to join in addressing this situation,” he said.
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A public affairs analyst, Mr. Jude Igbanoi, advocated exploration of more restorative forms of justice aimed at ‘bringing out the good in any convict as opposed to the death penalty.
He called for the adoption of an unofficial moratorium to serve as a litmus test before abolishing the death penalty.
” My plea to the civil society is to go back and have an unofficial moratorium in place before we get to the official; when tested successfully, the abolition can then be made complete,” he said.
In his remarks, a lawyer, Mr Noel Brown, said: ”The principle of ‘Audi altered part (hearing both sides) should continually and effectively form the basis for justice delivery in Nigeria.”
