Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs Olugbenga Ashiru

NIGERIA: FG REJECTS WEST'S POSITION ON DEATH PENALTY

June 29, 2013: Nigeria has said it will not alter its position on the death penalty, which is allowed in the constitution, because of  the criticism of some human right groups and some western nations.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Olugbenga Ashiru, who disclosed this in Abuja on June 28 after the opening ceremony of a forum on the Second Cycle of Nigeria’s Universal Periodic Review, said it’s ironic that Nigeria’s criminal code being condemned today was handed down by Britain, its colonial master.
Ashiru argued that Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, acted within his constitutional responsibilities by signing the execution warrants for the men whose crimes, he said, were both heinous and inhuman.
Oshiomhole last week approved the execution of four convicts on death row, a few days after President Goodluck Jonathan urged governors to sign the death warrant for inmates on death row in their states.
The execution had outraged rights advocacy groups and some foreign nations including Britain, with the most vocal condemnation coming from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Both had campaigned against the hangings which they described as a violation of human dignity.
Ashiru explained that even though there was an unwritten moratorium on executions, all clauses in the constitution remain in force until the constitution is reviewed.
“The constitution is supreme, and the criminal code we follow was handed down to us by the colonial powers at the time. So until the status books are reviewed, until the constitution is reviewed, there is nothing anybody can do. The governor acted within his constitutional powers,” he said. (Sources: dailytimes.com.ng, 29/06/2013)