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NIGERIA
‘WAITING FOR THE HANGMAN’
More than 720 men and 11 women are under sentence of death in
Nigeria’s prisons. They have one thing in common besides “waiting for
the hangman”. They are poor.
From their first contact with the police, through the trial process, to
seeking pardon, those with the fewest resources are at a serious
disadvantage in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
More than half the death row prisoners were sentenced to death on the
basis of a confession. Many said that they had been forced to sign
confessions because of torture by police.
Some had no lawyer at all – others said that their lawyer failed to argue
their case. More than 40 were juveniles at the time of the crime. About
80 had no right of appeal. Others cannot have their appeals heard
because the case files have been lost.
This report calls on Nigeria to join the nations who have abolished
the death penalty. Pending abolition, it calls on federal and state
authorities to declare a moratorium on executions; to commute
all death sentences to terms of imprisonment; to improve legal services
for detainees who cannot afford a private lawyer; and to ensure
that trials in capital cases meet international standards.
Amnesty International
International Secretariat
Peter Benenson House
1 Easton Street
London WC1X 0DW
United Kingdom
www.amnesty.org
Index: AFR 44/020/2008
October 2008