France and Australia, along with the international non-governmental organization Avocats Sans Frontieres France, have called for death penalty abolishment in Nigeria and around the world.
The call against capital punishment was made at an event in Abuja to mark World Day Against Death Penalty 2023.
The French ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann, stated that France has always used the day to advocate for the universal abolition of capital punishment.
Blatmann stated that 53 countries around the world still authorize the death penalty, including Nigeria.
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She said:
“Every year, we continue to try to raise awareness on this common cause and diversify our means of action and efforts so that one day, this major issue will no longer be in the world, in Nigeria and elsewhere. In 2022, Amnesty International recorded 2,016 death sentences in 52 countries.
“Also in 2022, at least 883 executions in 20 countries took place, and this is unfortunately an increase of 53 per cent compared to 2021.”
Leann Johnston, Charge D’ Affaires of the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, also gave her support for the universal abolition of capital punishment and urged Nigeria to implement an official moratorium on executions and move towards formal abolition of the death penalty.
Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, Country Director of ASF France, said that the death penalty does not deter crime and does not offer the prospect of rehabilitation.
Uzoma-Iwuchukwu recalled that a Nigerian police officer who was said to have shot dead a Lagos-based lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, on Christmas Day in 2022, was just sentenced to death by hanging on Monday.
The event was organized by the NGO in conjunction with the French Embassy and Australian High Commission to step up the campaign against the death penalty in Nigeria.
