Human rights coalition seeks end to death penalty

A coalition of human rights groups has called for abolition of death penalty, stating that statistic has not proved that capital punishment is a deterrent to major crimes.

This was disclosed at the yearly, Cities for Life-Cities Against Death Penalty, in response to the abolition of the death penalty, with the theme: “Lending a voice against Extra Judicial Killings and Lynching”, organised by Community Sant’ Egidio.

Cities for life” is a campaign led by the Community of Sant’Egidio that supports the abolition of the death penalty all over the world and promotes the culture of life. Every November 30- the Cities for Life against the Death Penalty Day commemorates the first abolition of the capital punishment, which took place in 1786 in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Speaking at the event,  Director, Cities for Life – Community of Sant’Egidio, Debbie Eselebor, noted that death penalty affects minorities, racial, social, ethnic and religious systems in an uneven way and there is no justice system in the world void of mistakes.

She stressed that death penalty as a violation of human right represents a form of torture, which contradicts the rehabilitation vision of justice, but legitimises and perpetuates violence.

Eselebor urged civil society organisations to commit to the training of security professionals in the conduct of ethical civil military operations and should continue to advocate for victims of human rights breaches and assist them in obtaining remedy.

She also called on National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly to amend the Criminal Code and Penal Code as well as the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act to remove death sentence as punishment for crimes and replace it with life imprisonment or a term of years sentence.

She said: “The government should not obstruct the investigative journalism that focuses on human rights violations but make use of those information while strategising. The National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the media should also improve on their involvement in holding the government accountable and can become involved in educating the public about their rights and avenues for redress.”

According to her, most African countries are in favour of the abolition of the Death Penalty as 25 of the 55 African Union member states have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Nigeria ranked fifth among the six countries in the world with the largest overall number of executions that took place between 1994 and 1999 and the first in Africa in spite of this; capital offences are still making waves.

Ex-death-row Inmate, Arthur Angels, said that death penalty has taken the lives of a good number of people whose lives should in the alternative be spared and reformed.

“We would be deluding ourselves if we were to believe that the execution of comparatively few people each year will provide the solution to the unacceptable high rate of crime.

“I personally believe that the greatest deterrent to crime is the likelihood that offenders will be apprehended, convicted and punished. It is that which is lacking in our criminal justice system.

“All too often, politicians have found the death penalty a useful tool in appearing to address crime and make the public feel safe. In reality, the death penalty has no such effect but simply distracts from the need to address the causes of crime and providing effective remedies,” he said.