Rights Commission, Others Oppose Death Sentence In Nigeria

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in collaboration with the Hope Behind Bars Africa, supported by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the French Development Agency, has called for the abolition of the death sentence in Nigeria.

The executive secretary of the NHRC, Dr. Tony Ojukwu (SAN) in his opening remarks at a Stakeholders’ Validation Meeting of the Research Findings on Gender and the Death Penalty in Nigeria, held in commemoration of the World Day Against the Death Penalty in Abuja, yesterday, said death penalty does not deter crime, adding that it often fails to address the underlying causes of violence and insecurity.

Ojukwu, who said the NHRC had in 2022 joined the International Bar Association and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association in endorsing the Memorandum on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Nigeria, also reiterated that this year’s global theme, “The Death Penalty Protects No One”, challenges “us to confront the persistent myth that executions deliver justice or enhance public safety.”

While calling on the Nigerian government to align its criminal justice policies with international human rights standards, the human rights chief advocate revealed that the research document being validated underscores the ineffectiveness of capital punishment as a deterrent measure and highlights irreversible miscarriages of justice in systems burdened by institutional weaknesses.

“The NHRC remains steadfast in this effort towards the abolition of the death penalty in Nigeria. This position is grounded in the belief that justice should be restorative rather than retributive, and that the protection of human dignity must be central to our legal and penal systems.

“In our monthly Human Rights Situation Dashboard presentation, we expressed concerns over the resurgence of capital punishment in proposed legislation, including the Edo State Secret Cult Law 2025 and the NAFDAC bill prescribing the death penalty for the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit and substandard medicines in Nigeria. While such measures may be perceived as politically expedient, they are ultimately counterproductive. They are not in tune with the current conversations on the death penalty and risk diverting attention from the structural reforms necessary to achieve this pursuit,” he stated.

In her presentation, the executive director of the Hope Behind Bars, Funke Adeoye, revealed that Nigeria retains the death penalty under statutory, customary, and Sharia legal systems, which prescribe capital punishment for offences such as murder, armed robbery, treason, terrorism, adultery, and same-sex relations in some jurisdictions.

Adeoye, who said this pluralistic legal structure has produced inconsistencies in the application of justice, also revealed that women, in particular, remain disproportionately vulnerable within this system due to gendered biases, limited access to justice, and rigid societal expectations.

While revealing that the research underscores that women’s experiences on death row in Nigeria are not isolated criminal incidents but rather outcomes of systemic gender discrimination, socio-economic precarity, and entrenched cultural oppression, Adeoye stressed that instead of delivering justice, the death penalty perpetuates cycles of trauma and inequality.