Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu. The first thing to know is that death penalty in Nigeria can be applicable in two different legal systems under the Constitution: the Common Law and the Sharia Law. The Common Law deals with general laws and prescribes the death penalty for crimes such as murder, armed robbery, treason or terrorism. The Sharia Law is a religious law ruling in some Northern states. It prescribes the death penalty for crimes such as adultery, rape or blasphemy. State governments can also promulgate offences to be punishable by death in their state. For example, kidnapping is punishable by death in many states.
The death penalty is mandatory for some offences in Nigeria. As such, the judges have no discretion which makes it almost impossible for them to hand down lower sentences other than death irrespective of the circumstances of the case. The government justifies the use of the death penalty by arguing that prisons are overcrowded. However, people sentenced to death only account for 2% of the prison population. 72% of the prison population are estimated to have been awaiting trial for up to 11 years. This data is approximated, as the government is reluctant to provide us with official figures.
While death penalty is not the solution to the problem of overcrowding, faster access to justice might be one of them.
In 1999, Nigeria transitioned from military rule to civilian rule. Before that year, military tribunals handed down most of the death sentences with no right to appeal. The last execution took place in 2016. Three years later, the Nigerian Correctional Service Act was adopted. It stated that people facing the death penalty who have been incarcerated for over 10 years should have their sentence commuted. Unfortunately, this is not automatic: some conditions, such as good behaviour or age, need to be assessed.
