By Henry Ojelu
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s justice sector have renewed calls for the abolition of death penalty, urging the Federal Government to replace it with life imprisonment and adopt restorative justice measures that uphold 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,” and the launch of The Inclusion Project (TIP) documentary titled “Justice Reimagined: Voices of Loss.”
The documentary, produced by TIP, features the experiences of victims of capital offences and challenges the belief that the death penalty deters crime. It argues instead that executions neither prevent violence nor deliver justice but risk taking innocent lives.
TIP Director, Mrs. Pamela Okoroigwe, said it was time for Nigeria to move away from retribution toward a justice system grounded in 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 stated.
Associate Professor of Law at the University of Lagos, Dr. Abiodun Odusote, noted that decades of enforcing the death penalty in Nigeria have not deterred 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 to allow life terms and rehabilitation instead.
Similarly, Convener of the Criminal Justice Network of Nigeria, Mr. Nathaniel Ngwu, said 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 examples of Malawi, Sierra Leone, and the UK, which abolished it without an increase 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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