The Advocates Sans Frontières (ASF) France, also known as Lawyers Without Borders, stated on Thursday that 3,600 inmates are on death row in Nigeria.
The organisation also said that Nigeria holds the highest number of death row inmates in sub-Saharan Africa, noting that the number continues to rise as new death sentences are handed down regularly.
ASF’s Country Director, Ms. Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, disclosed this in Abuja during a high-level technical consultation, raising serious concerns over the growing number of inmates on death row in Nigeria.
She noted that while Nigeria has observed a voluntary moratorium on executions since 2014, the absence of a formal policy leaves death row inmates vulnerable to execution at any time.
Uzoma-Iwuchukwu said: “We have around 3,600 persons on death row in Nigeria, and out of that, we have about 63 women. So that’s actually a small percentage. However, there are peculiar issues that women on death row are facing, and one of them is that a lot of them ended up on death row because they fought back against the sort of abuse that they were experiencing.
“And during their trials, the spousal abuse or domestic violence was not taken into consideration, and this led to their conviction and eventual placement on death row.
“So this is one of the reasons why it is important to bring up the issue, the gender perspective of women on death row, and their peculiarities.”
In his remarks, the Executive Director of the Legal Defence & Assistance Project (LEDAP), Mr. Chinonye Obiagwu, SAN, noted that Nigeria has the highest number of death row prisoners in Africa.
“Nigeria also has the highest number of offenses that carry the death penalty, and we are deeply concerned about this alarming trend,” Obiagwu said, urging the government to abolish capital punishment.
Also speaking, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) joined the call for an end to the death penalty. NHRC’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Anthony Ojukwu, SAN, stressed the irreversible nature of capital punishment and its potential for irreparable harm, especially in cases of wrongful convictions.
“We cannot ignore the growing evidence that shows capital punishment does not deter crime. The risk of executing innocent people remains one of the greatest failures of any justice system,” Ojukwu added.
Representing the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, called the death penalty “outdated and ineffective,” urging the federal government to review its use. He assured that the NBA would continue to advocate for reforms that ensure fair trials and humane sentencing, offering free legal services to individuals facing the death penalty.
International representatives, including the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Leilani Bin-Juda, and the Deputy Head of Mission at the French Embassy, Jean-François Hasperue, were also present at the event, signalling global support for Nigeria’s movement toward abolishing the death penalty.
