As sacrosanct as the life of a Nigerian is, the constitution of the country permits death in certain situations. Truly, the right to life is very key and essential, but there are exceptions, such as the execution of a court sentence for a criminal offense, riots, escaping, or making a lawful arrest.
Section 33(1) of the Constitution states that “every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offense of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.”
Security agents are permitted to use lethal force when necessary to effect a lawful arrest, avert escape, or protect themselves or others from imminent danger. There are concerns of possible abuse by security agents in the use of force; hence, the need to use lethal force when necessary, and when security agents shoot to kill without any danger at hand, it would amount to at least manslaughter, if not murder.
However, the argument for or against the death penalty has continued to raise dust following agitation of some analysts and activists to ban court pronouncements related to the death penalty, citing human rights concerns, risk of wrongful executions, lack of deterrent effects, among others. They also cited that many advanced countries have abolished the death penalty, hence the need for Nigeria as a country to consider abolishment.
Findings by WITHIN NIGERIA revealed that there are hundreds of criminals who have been convicted to death by courts but have not been executed. This has contributed to the rising number of convicted persons on death row and prison congestion.
Recall that a former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, in 2021 had called on state governors to sign death warrants for convicts who have exhausted their appeals in order to reduce prison congestion, among other things.
WITHIN NIGERIA contacted some Nigerians to share their views about death by hanging or firing squad as a penalty for capital offenses such as murder, armed robbery, homicide, and treason.
In a telephone conversation with WITHIN NIGERIA, a teacher of law at the University of Hull, Misbau Lateef, disclosed that death by hanging is inhuman and clearly against the provisions of Chapter IV of the Constitution of Nigeria generally on human rights and specifically on the dignity of the human person.
According to the former law teacher at Obafemi Awolowo University, death by hanging or firing squad is becoming less fashionable in modern times.
“There is an international moratorium against the death penalty and firings, which is definitely wrong and inhuman by all standards. A death sentence by whatever style is meeting violence with violence, and there is no concrete evidence that this has stopped crimes. In fact, there are well-researched findings showing the contrary,” the law teacher emphasized.
An economic expert, Abayomi Alao, while conversing with WITHIN NIGERIA, argued that death by firing squad is inefficient and ineffective.
Alao, while decrying the criminal justice system in Nigeria, added that the country is so bad that suspects could be swapped or allowed to escape in intentional jail breaks.
The finance expert who cited Oyenusi and drug couriers who were executed by firing squad as references suggested the use of inheritable jail terms.
“Those guilty will serve in open custody with community services, state farms, among others. The important thing is this will make crimes unprofitable. Families of criminals will become outcasts,” he added.
Pastor Sam Progress, a media and communications expert, told WITHIN NIGERIA that he is in total support of the reintroduction of execution in the family house of any convicted criminal.
According to Progress, death by firing squad is most likely to reawaken family values and the protection of family names.
“I will always recommend execution for armed robbers, terrorists, and kidnappers. In addition, I also wish we could have special courts for such crimes so that trials will be as fast as possible,” he advised.
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of defunct Midweek Spring, Emma Monyeh, told WITHIN NIGERIA that death by firing squad has not succeeded in reducing crime, arguing that it never worked apart from the associated goriness and assault on sensibilities.
“Death by any other means, if the assenting governors are bold enough to sign, is better.
If not, repeal the death sentence permitted by law and replace it with life imprisonment without parole,” he further argued.
Osogbo-born IT expert Kunle Buraimoh opined that death by firing squad is a cruel way of ending someone’s life due to punishment given by the state.
Buraimoh, who sees death by firing squad as a barbaric and out-dated practice, revealed that he would prefer a modern way of execution, such as lethal injection.
“I would like to see someone who committed a crime that warrants the death penalty get a life sentence without the possibility of parole. This way, they get to feel the pain of what they have done in the long term compared to killing an inmate who might never feel guilty about the harm done to their victims,” Buraimoh further disclosed.
Rasheed Adegoke, a technology expert in a telephone conversation with WITHIN NIGERIA, disclosed that the debate about whether or not the death sentence should be carried out by public execution (firing squad) is an interesting one that must start with a debate on whether or not the death penalty should be used at all as punishment for crime.
Adegoke, who agreed that some crimes are so hideous that the only appropriate punishment should be death, strongly contested public execution.
He disclosed that Margaret Thatcher captures his position accurately in her comment—““I, personally, have always voted for the death penalty because I believe that people who go out prepared to take the lives of other people forfeit their own right to live. I believe that the death penalty should be used only rarely.
He further disclosed that any crime that involves the willful murder of another person or people should be punishable with death.
Adegoke argued that public execution has the potential to desensitize the audience to the sanctity of human life.
“Execution of death row criminals should be done solemnly by the least painful means possible and should not become a form of public entertainment,” he further stated.
Otunba Kehinde Oloke, a passionate advocate for human rights, expressed his dissatisfaction against death by firing squad.
Oloke, who pondered the words of George Servile and Marquis, “Men are not hanged for stealing horses, but that horses may not be stolen, claimed that the death penalty in Nigeria seemed more like a relic of the past, a measure that didn’t quite fit the complexities of modern society.
He argued that the country’s judicial system is a dual one, with Sharia law dominating the north and the common law system of Britain influencing the south, which would lead to confusion and inconsistency in the application of justice.
He argued ineffectiveness, corruption, judicial manipulation, and human rights are factors limiting death by hanging or firing as a penalty.
He further argued that punishment should be about healing and reform, stating that life imprisonment without parole could be a more effective and humane alternative.
Discussion about this post