NHRC, Australia Press FG To Formalise Execution Moratorium As 3,500 Inmates Languish On Death Row

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Australian Government have called on the federal government to formally halt executions, commute death sentences to life imprisonment and reform Nigeria’s capital punishment laws, as more than 3,500 inmates remain on death row despite nearly a decade without executions.

The call comes as Nigeria approaches its 10th consecutive year without a state execution, with the two parties urging the government to translate the development into concrete criminal justice reforms rather than allow condemned inmates to remain indefinitely in uncertainty.

Speaking at the 2026 World Day Against the Death Penalty commemoration in Abuja on Friday, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Chief Tony Ojukwu, OFR, SAN, represented by the Commission’s Director of Legal Services and Enforcement, Hajia Rabi Anwar, urged the federal government to replace the existing informal suspension of executions with an official executive moratorium.

Ojukwu also called on state governors to exercise their constitutional prerogative of mercy to commute death sentences to life imprisonment, particularly in cases where condemned inmates have exhausted their appeals but continue to face prolonged detention under the threat of execution.

The Commission further advocated a review of laws prescribing mandatory death sentences, arguing that judges should have the discretion to consider mitigating circumstances, individual vulnerabilities and possible flaws in criminal investigations and judicial proceedings before imposing capital punishment.

Expressing concern over persistent weaknesses in the criminal justice system, the NHRC identified inadequate legal representation, false confessions and pre-trial delays as factors capable of undermining fair trials and exposing defendants to grave miscarriages of justice. It stressed that the constitutional provision for capital punishment in specified circumstances must not override the principles of due process, human dignity and the protection of fundamental rights.

Australia’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Her Excellency Ms Leilani Bin-Juda, PSM, aligned with the Commission’s position, reaffirming her country’s opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and urging Nigeria to use its approaching 10-year milestone without executions as a springboard for broader legal and institutional reforms.

Bin-Juda warned that the continued presence of more than 3,500 people on death row demonstrated that the human consequences of capital punishment remained unresolved, despite the absence of executions.

She urged the Nigerian authorities to formalise the moratorium and, pending wider reforms, reduce the range of offences punishable by death.

The Australian envoy maintained that justice, accountability and public safety could be achieved without taking human lives, noting that international experience and constructive engagement could help Nigeria strengthen its criminal justice system. She also cited an earlier Federal High Court decision in which a judge reportedly declined to impose a death sentence, describing it as an indication of the evolving judicial and international debate on capital punishment.

The NHRC and Australia’s position comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s constitutional framework, which permits capital punishment for specified offences, even as human rights advocates continue to raise concerns about fair trial guarantees, prolonged detention and the treatment of condemned prisoners. The Commission called for strict adherence to due process and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations in the administration of criminal justice.

The commemoration, organised by the NHRC in partnership with Avocats Sans Frontières France, the Australian High Commission and the Embassy of Germany, with support acknowledged from the Norwegian Embassy, was held under the theme, “Stories for Life.” The organisers said the theme highlighted the human consequences of death sentences for defendants, their families and affected communities, while encouraging renewed national dialogue on justice, fairness and human dignity.