July 5, 2010
The African Union human rights body, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has ordered the Nigerian government to stay impending execution of more than 800 prisoners on death row across prisons in the country, pending the determination of a Communication brought by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
SERAP had alleged before the African Commission that the “government’s only justification for executing the prisoners is to address prison congestion.”
The African Commission granted the requests by SERAP asking it to order the Nigerian government to stay execution of the prisoners; maintain moratorium on execution of the death penalty, and move towards abolition. The African Commission Secretariat in Banjul confirmed the decision in a correspondence with SERAP.
The decision and Urgent Appeal sent last week to President Jonathan Goodluck by Commissioner Zainabo Sylvie Kayitesi, Chairperson, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Working Group on the Death Penalty, followed a Communication filed on 23 June 2010 before the Commission by Solicitor to SERAP, Mr Femi Falana. In the request for provisional measures, the organization asked the Chairperson of the Commission, Commissioner Reine Alapini- Gansou 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.
Reacting to the African Commission's decision, SERAP's lawyer Falana said “By this decision, the Commission has once again demonstrated its authority and progressive and expansive mandates to hold African governments accountable for their human rights commitments.”
“In line with the expressed commitment of the current administration, we now expect that the Federal government and the state governors will move swiftly to implement the orders by the Commission by suspending any plan to execute the over 870 death row prisoners in the country. As the Chair of ECOWAS, Nigeria has a responsibility to show leadership and good example for others in the sub-region, and Africa as a whole,” Falana added.
SERAP had in its Communication asked the African Commission to request the Nigerian government 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 final 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.
SERAP had also alleged in its Communication that, “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 also 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.
“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’," 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.
Signed
Adetokunbo Mumuni
SERAP Executive Director
6/7/2010
SERAP had alleged before the African Commission that the “government’s only justification for executing the prisoners is to address prison congestion.”
The African Commission granted the requests by SERAP asking it to order the Nigerian government to stay execution of the prisoners; maintain moratorium on execution of the death penalty, and move towards abolition. The African Commission Secretariat in Banjul confirmed the decision in a correspondence with SERAP.
The decision and Urgent Appeal sent last week to President Jonathan Goodluck by Commissioner Zainabo Sylvie Kayitesi, Chairperson, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Working Group on the Death Penalty, followed a Communication filed on 23 June 2010 before the Commission by Solicitor to SERAP, Mr Femi Falana. In the request for provisional measures, the organization asked the Chairperson of the Commission, Commissioner Reine Alapini- Gansou 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.
Reacting to the African Commission's decision, SERAP's lawyer Falana said “By this decision, the Commission has once again demonstrated its authority and progressive and expansive mandates to hold African governments accountable for their human rights commitments.”
“In line with the expressed commitment of the current administration, we now expect that the Federal government and the state governors will move swiftly to implement the orders by the Commission by suspending any plan to execute the over 870 death row prisoners in the country. As the Chair of ECOWAS, Nigeria has a responsibility to show leadership and good example for others in the sub-region, and Africa as a whole,” Falana added.
SERAP had in its Communication asked the African Commission to request the Nigerian government 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 final 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.
SERAP had also alleged in its Communication that, “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 also 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.
“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’," 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.
Signed
Adetokunbo Mumuni
SERAP Executive Director
6/7/2010
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