The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) says 3,298 inmates across custodial centers in Nigeria are on death row.
The NCoS public relations officer, Abubakar Umar disclosed this while speaking with NAN ON Wednesday in Abuja.
Umar however stated that the term “condemned criminal” had been abolished by the NCoS Act 2019, which redefined prisons as correctional centers and is now using the term “inmates on death row (IDR)” instead.
He explained that death sentences are not always carried out immediately after they are imposed and that convicts often go through long periods of uncertainty while their cases are being appealed at higher levels.
“Inmates awaiting execution live on what we call death row. Some offenders have been executed more than 15 years after their convictions. They were basically awaiting the hangman’s noose in our custodial centers after being found guilty of capital offenses,” Umar said.
He added that 3,298 inmates, which represent about 4.5 percent of the total number of inmates in Nigeria’s custodial centers, are on death row, with some having been in custody for many years. Most of the offenders committed capital offenses like culpable homicide, armed robbery, and terrorism.
Umar, however, noted that the NCoS engages inmates in activities that reform and modify their behaviors, including personal development programs like anger management, civic education, and entrepreneurship. He said that some IDRs, who show hard work, industry, and discipline, are recommended for clemency by the relevant authorities.
Umar further explained that the intervention of some human rights groups, who are against death sentences, has reduced the execution of offenders, adding that before the moratorium on the execution of IDRs became widespread, executions of IDRs were being carried out as and when due.
The NCos public relation officer also urged state governors, who shy away from signing the death warrants, to commute them into other sanctions to ensure that the toga of death is removed from them and to help properly manage them.
Comments are closed.