The European Union (EU) and the Avocats Sans Frontiers (ASF) France, has commenced training criminal defence lawyers on increasing legal aid for inmates on death row.
Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, the Country Director of ASF France, also known as Lawyers Without Borders, said the training was to make legal services accessible and affordable to persons on death row in various correctional centres across the country.
“The organisation, in partnership with the EU and others, is training capital defence lawyers who were selected across the country whose capacity are being built to be able to better represent their clients who are facing the death penalty,” she said.
Uzoma-Iwuchukwu said the selection of the lawyer’s, who are handling capital defence cases, was done through an open and transparent medium.
She said out of the total number of 114 applications from lawyers across Nigeria, only 15 candidates were selected for the training..
“And we also have gender balance between male and female lawyers,” she said.
She said the two-day training was organised in commemoration of this year’s World Day Against the Death Penalty with the theme: “Death Penalty: A Road Paved with Torture.”
She said in Sub-Saharan Africa, over 6000 persons are on death roll and that Nigeria accounts for the largest number of persons on death row.
“We have over 3,000 persons currently on death row in Nigeria. This is very worrisome.
“And that is why we believe that the World Against the Death Penalty 2022 offers us another opportunity to reflect once again on the propriety or not to continue to retain death penalty in our laws in Nigeria,” she said.
She said though a lot of efforts had been made in the country, a lot needs to be done.
She said even though the constitution gives rights to life,it also at the same time, limits it and gives exception for execution.
She therefore called for political will to implement an official moratorium on the death penalty.
She said there should also be a constitutional and legislative reforms.
According to the country director, the organisation is calling for a review in the use of death penalty because it is often used disproportionately against the poor.
“It is the poor people who cannot afford legal services to go through the whole trial and to hire the best defence lawyers to avoid getting on death row.
“Secondly, we say death penalty is too absolute; the execution cannot be reversed and there is always that chance of executing the innocent.
“And as long as this chance exists in all jurisdictions across the world, not just in Nigeria, then we cannot and should not continue to maintain the death penalty.
“Most importantly, studies have shown that the death penalty does not deter the most violent crimes more than any other forms of punishment,” she said.
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