As the 18th World Day Against the Death Penalty held at the weekend, the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) has called on the Federal Government to stop expanding the scope of the punitive measure.
This year’s theme was “Access to Justice: A Matter of Life or Death.”
The group said it had found an increasing number of persons standing trial for capital offences in Nigeria, owing to the fact that more offences have been prescribed as such.
“For instance, not less than eight Nigerian states have prescribed capital punishment for kidnapping, while the 12 states that have adopted the Sharia penal code prescribe the death penalty for sexual offences and others offences such as adultery,” LEDAP said in a statement signed by its head, Edmund Chinonye Obiagwu (SAN).
“The trend has led to an overload in our criminal justice sector and justice administration, especially for public defenders and the courts,” it added.
Source: Guardian Newspaper
