SERAP asks African Commission to stop FG, Govs from executing 870 death row prisoners
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Honourable Commissioner Reine Alapini- Gansou “to stop the Federal Government and the governors of the 36 states of the Federation from executing more than 800 prisoners on death row across Nigerian prisons as a means of decongesting the prisons.”
In a request for provisional measures dated 23 June 2010 and signed by Solicitor to SERAP, Mr Femi Falana, the organization asked the African Commission to “urgently invoke Article 111 (Rule of Procedure) authority to request that Nigeria adopt provisional measures in order to stop the irreparable damage that would be caused to the more than 800 Complainants and their African Charter rights.”
The request for provisional measures was submitted in conjunction with SERAP’s communication to the African Commission.
According to the organization, “there are serious, persistent and irreparable violations of the Complainants’ rights to life; to competent and effective legal representation; to trial within a reasonable time or to a release; to trial by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law; to the presumption of innocence; to appeal to an independent and impartial tribunal, and fair trial guarantees during appeals require the Commission’s immediate and urgent attention.”
The organization said that “the National Economic Council meeting {chaired by the Vice President of Nigeria and attended by 36 state governors} at a meeting on 15 June 2010 decided that state governors should urgently sign death warrants for death row prisoners with the aim of decongesting the prisons. This decision is a reaffirmation of the decision by the National Economic Council in March.”
“The planned execution by the government of more than 800 prisoners on death row on the sole ground of decongesting the prisons while several of them still have their appeal pending does not offer a fair and effective solution to the problem of overcrowding. Many inmates have been sentenced to death after blatantly unfair trials.
Trials can take more than 10 years to conclude. We are seriously concerned that these Nigerians are now at risk of imminent secret execution. We have received credible information from the Complainants that their mental and physical conditions are deteriorating,” the organization further said.
The organization also said that “Nigeria is a state party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Despite this, the human rights of prisoners, especially those on death row are increasingly being violated. The right to a fair trial is a fundamental safeguard to assure that individuals are not unjustly punished. It is indispensable for the protection of other human rights such as the right to freedom from torture and cruel or inhuman treatment, and the right to life.
However, when people are subjected to unfair trials, justice cannot be served. The Complainants have been deprived of their liberty and other fair trial rights and their right to life may be irreparably violated.”
“Like the African Charter, Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), which Nigeria has also ratified, provides that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life”. The word “arbitrarily” here means both ‘illegally’ and ‘unjustly’.
Furthermore, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights at its 44th Ordinary Session in Abuja, Nigeria, in November 2008 adopted a resolution calling on African States, including Nigeria, that still retain the death penalty to “observe a moratorium on the execution of death sentences with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
Similarly, while Nigeria did not adopt an official moratorium on executions, the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs stated in February 2009 at the 4th Session of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) that Nigeria has a “self imposed moratorium,” the organization added.
“For the above reasons, SERAP considers that the planned execution of more than 800 prisoners on death row in Nigerian prisons, and application of the death penalty in these cases will be illegal and unjust. We consider supervening factors such as those highlighted above to be sufficient grounds for stopping the Nigerian government from going ahead with the planned execution of prisoners on death row in the country with the unjustified ground of serving to decongest the prisons,” the organization argued.
“We further urge the African Commission to undertake an in-depth study, based on the “series of serious” and “massive” violations alleged in this Communication. The Complainants are too poor or traumatized to avail themselves of local remedies.
Few inmates can afford a lawyer and the government funded Legal Aid Council only has around 100 lawyers. Many death row prisoners may be innocent, as Nigeria’s justice system is riddled with flaws and is unable to guarantee fair trials. As result of these factors, effective local remedies are unavailable to the victims and their families,” the organization added.
The organization therefore asked the Commission to request the Federal Government and the governors to:
A. Immediately remove the Complainants from death row or any risk of execution, and fully accord them their fair trial and other human rights, pending this Commission’s decision.
B. Give assurances that more than 800 prisoners on death row and in dehumanising and harsh conditions across Nigerian prisons will not be secretly executed. The Nigerian authorities should also give assurances that they will fully implement the resolutions on moratorium on executions by the African Commission and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.
C. Ensure that prisoners on death row across Nigerian prisons receive fair trial and other international human rights guarantees applicable to their situation, including granting them their right to appeal. Therefore, the Commission’s urgent intervention is required to ensure that the Complainants’ right to life is not unjustly and illegally violated.
D. Undertake a prompt review of its legal framework and administrative practices on the use of the death penalty to ensure their consistency with the resolutions on moratorium on executions by the African Commission and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.
