A group, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE-Nigeria), has appealed to the Federal Government against execution of 2, 359 prison inmates on death row in different prisons across the country.
In a statement by its executive director, Sylvester Uhaa, the group condemned recent discussions between the presidency and state governors considering approval for execution of the inmates.
The organisation championing the cause of prison inmates said: “It is quite worrying Nigeria is contemplating executing people at a time nations of the world are doing away with the death penalty and trying to find permanent and workable solutions to reducing violent crime.
“It is not true, as claimed by the governors and the Attorney-General of the Federation that death row inmates in Nigeria pose the greatest security risk to the prison service and society because they constitute about two percent of the prison population.”
It went on: “It is awaiting trial inmates, who constitute over 70 percent of our prison population, that pose the greatest security threat to the prisons, their host communities and to the nation at large.
“So, if the governors and Federal Government are serious about finding solutions to the problems hindering the effective management of prisons, they should decongest and invest in prison education and other rehabilitation programs, access to justice, and crime prevention, not planning to carry out mass executions.
“The death penalty is not a deterrent to violent crime and is only propagated by people who are reluctant to address the root causes of crime but want to create a false impression that they are serious about fighting crime.
“As you know Nigeria has the highest number of people on death row in West Africa. This invariably means that Nigeria has the highest violent crime rate in the region.”
