…As 3,688 Inmates, Including 83 Women On Death Row In Nigeria

Barely two weeks after the House of Representatives rescinded its passage through second reading a bill seeking to review death penalty in Nigeria, the Australian High Commission in Nigeria in conjunction with a non-governmental organisation, Hope Behind Bars Africa is leading the campaign for the abolition of capital punishment.

Both expressed their positions at a workshop, “Journalists briefing on capital punishment and broader criminal justice matters in Nigeria” they jointly organised in Abuja on Thursday.

This is just as 3,688 inmates including 83 women are currently awaiting execution in Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, the High Commissioner of the Australian High Commission, HE Leilani Bin-Juda said the government has been advocating for abolition of death penalty, disclosing that Australia had its last execution in 1967.

Represented by Calum Walker, Second Secretary, Australian High Commission in Nigeria, the envoy said there was a need to review the capital punishment. Walker said “On a personal note, as a Catholic, I do not believe that someone should be killed for committing any crime”.

Recall that “The last execution in Australia took place in 1967, when Ronald Ryan was hanged in Victoria following his conviction for killing a prison officer while escaping from Pentridge Prison. Between Ryan’s execution in 1967 and 1984, several more people were sentenced to death, but had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment”.

Speaking on the topic “Understanding capital punishment: Global perspectives and trends”, Funke Adeoye, Executive Director of Hope Behind Bars Africa said as of March 2025, Nigeria’s death row population rose by 2.73 per cent in six months from 3,590 to 3,688 inmates.

According to her, 83 women were presently on death row in Nigeria. She lamented that “A significant number of death sentences results from trials that fall below fair trial standards, especially for the poor without legal representation”, adding that “Inmates often suffer ‘death row syndrome’ spending decades in dehumanizing conditions while awaiting execution”.

The executive director listed key arguments against death penalty to include risk of wrongful convictions, no proven deterrent effect, discriminatory applications, irreversibility and moral and human rights concerns.

She noted that while 26 African countries including Angola, Rwanda, South Africa, Mozambique, Burundi, Sierra Leone and Zambia have fully abolished death penalty, Nigeria, Egypt and Somalia still carry out death sentences with Morocco and Algeria retaining death penalty for exceptional cases.

Adeoye noted that the essence of the workshop was to explore death penalty trends, legal frameworks and realities across jurisdiction; examine comparative legal analyses and recent developments across regions and encourage critical thinking on death penalty.

Other papers presented at the workshop included “The death penalty in Nigeria: A comprehensive overview of debates and implications” by Angela Uwandu of Avocat San Frontiers, “Capital punishment and trauma: The need for trauma informed reporting”, by Judith-Ada Chiroma of Sunshine Series and “Beyond headlines: Crafting human-centred stories on the death penalty” by Bisi Abidoye of Premium Times.

Recall that the House of Representatives had on March 27, 2025 rescinded its passage of the bill sponsored by the Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, and six others. The bill is for an Act to alter the Constitution to review the penalties for certain capital offences in alignment with relevant international best practices and for related matters.

It seeks to amend Section 33 (1) of the 1999 Constitution. The section stipulates that: “Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.

”The bill proposes the removal of the phrase: “Save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.”