By Bartholomew Madukwe & Nwosu Patricia

As Nigeria joined other countries in observing the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the Human Right Law and Service (HURILAWS)  and the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) have called for abolition of death penalty in the country and over-haul of the entire criminal justice system.

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty is an alliance of NGOs, bar associations, local bodies and has established October 10 as the date of the annual World Day Against the Death Penalty.

Speaking at the media presentation of a book titled “Nigeria and the Death Penalty: The Case for Abolition” in Lagos, HURILAWS legal officer, Collins Okeke, noted that death penalty does not keep a society safe.

He pointed out that the best way to solve crime is to prevent it or at best apprehend the offender, explaining that most charge for crimes that attract death penalty are based on confessional statements.

Okeke, who urged Lagos State government to review its criminal justice and procedures, opined that the judiciary has become somewhat complicit “when they admit these confessional statements and continue to make pronouncements of death knowing these limitations exists in the system”.

He explained that what is needed in the country is to collectively stop crime and not life, saying “what advocates for death penalty fail to understand is that the death penalty does not keep society safe. It may pander to the outrage of society but it does not abate or remove crime, which should be the interest of government. There is no relationship on death and crime Penalty. Therefore, the institute for crime should be used to fight crime and not imposing death penalty.”

LEDAP, a non-governmental organization of lawyers and Law professional engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria, also called on National and State Legislature to amend the Criminal Code Laws to abolish the death penalty or to restrict the use of death sentence to heinous crimes of premeditated murder or terrorism murder.