Rights lawyer canvasses abrogation of death penalty

An Abuja-based lawyer and human rights activist, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, has canvassed abrogation of the death penalty in the country.

Ajulo, who offered pro bono service to rescue a teenager, Adeolu Bamiteko, from the hangman’s noose in Ekiti State, also decried the plight of the poor in accessing justice.

The rights activist, who expressed happiness for saving the life of Bamiteko in the Court of Appeal sitting in Ado Ekiti, said empirical evidence has shown that the death penalty is no longer required in Nigeria.

He said but for poverty, Bamiteko would have been spared the death sentence handed to him on June 30, 2017, by presiding judge, Justice J. O. Adeyeye.

In 2017, Bamiteko and an accomplice, Ayobami Ojo, were charged to court for armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearms.

But on hearing of the matter, and displeased with the judgment of the court, Ajulo rose in defence of Bamiteko and filed a Notice of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/EK/41C/2020 at the Court of Appeal sitting in Ado Ekiti on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

In a unanimous judgment, the panel of justices thereafter discharged and acquitted Bamiteko.