Stakeholders in Nigeria’s justice sector have renewed calls for the abolition of the death penalty, urging the Federal Government to replace it with life imprisonment and embrace restorative justice that upholds human dignity.
The call was made during the commemoration of the 23rd World Day Against the Use of the Death Penalty, themed “Death Penalty Protects No One,” alongside the launch of The Inclusion Project (TIP) documentary titled “Justice Reimagined: Voices of Loss.”
Produced by TIP, the documentary sheds light on the experiences of victims of capital offences and challenges the long-held notion that the death penalty deters crime. It argues that executions neither prevent violence nor deliver justice but rather risk claiming innocent lives.
TIP Director, Mrs. Pamela Okoroigwe, stressed that it was time for Nigeria to shift from a retributive system to one focused on rehabilitation.
“For too long, the death penalty has been justified in the name of victims without consulting them. Many now reject it — not out of sympathy for offenders — but because killing in response to killing only deepens injustice,” she said.
Also speaking, Dr. Abiodun Odusote, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Lagos, noted that decades of enforcing the death penalty in Nigeria have failed to deter crimes such as murder, kidnapping, and banditry.
“Judges must still pronounce death sentences, but most governors refuse to sign execution warrants, showing even government discomfort with enforcing them,” he observed, calling for an official moratorium in favour of life terms and rehabilitation.
Convener of the Criminal Justice Network of Nigeria, Mr. Nathaniel Ngwu, added that the documentary captures the pain and disillusionment of victims who find no closure in executions.
“The death penalty has done little to heal victims or reduce violence. Nigeria should follow the path of nations like Malawi, Sierra Leone, and the UK, which abolished it without any rise in crime,” he said.
The stakeholders concluded that true justice lies not in vengeance, but in reforms that ensure fair trials, prevent wrongful convictions, and address the root causes of crime through humane and restorative approaches.
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