By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin
Lawyers without Borders, Avocats sans Frontiers (ASF) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), have renewed campaign seeking an end to death sentence and other capital punishment for crimes in the country.
The Legal Manager SALI, Mr. Ogunbiyi Kolawole and Edo state Assistant Coordinator, NHRC, Nicholas Osadolor, made the declaration yesterday during a sensitisation workshop in Benin City, the Edo State Capital.
They noted that the main aim of capital punishment is to reduce crime rate in the country but with reserve conducted so far it has not yielded any result.
Ogunbiyi contended that death for capital punishment has not really curb the issue of crime in the country, rather offenders should be made to pay and learn their lesson with life imprisonment.
According to him, “The issue of capital punishment, as you are aware, has not served as deterrent in our society and that is the core reason for imposing capital punishment”.
”We are here to discuss on the practical way we can solve the problem of imposing of capital punishment because it has not serve the purpose for which it was meant for.
“It is a constitutional provision that once somebody is charge for a capital offence the punishment is death but with the change of attitude, and re-think people is beginning to have now and with more sensitization it will get to a stage we will get that abolished”.
He said “to some extent, we have recorded successes. We have about 150 cases in court because we are actually in seven states and we have gotten release or pardon for close to 100 of them”.
Edo state assistant coordinator, NHRC, Mr. Nicholas Osadolor, said the main aim of capital punishment is to reduce crime rate in the country but with reserve conducted so far it has not yielded any result.
Osadolor presented a paper at the occasion on the ‘extradition case in South Africa and the supreme court of India’, criminality and to that extent the essence of law is to reform people not to further cause hardship and in any case it doesn’t really do anything good even to the victim.
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