Dr. Illah Wants Death Penalty Replaced With Life Sentence, Convicts ‘Engaged In Agric Production’
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A renowned criminologist and human rights interventionist, Dr. Illah Obadiah, has urged the Nigerian government to consider reforming the death penalty policy in favor of life imprisonment.
As the Chief Executive Officer of Confidence Building Initiative International (COBII), a non-governmental organization based in Lafia, Dr. Illah made this call recently in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State.
In addition to his role at COBII, Dr. Illah serves as a lecturer and Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) at Isa Mustapha Agwai I Polytechnic, Lafia, Nasarawa State.
According to Dr. Illah, the global community, social theorists, and criminologists are increasingly advocating for life imprisonment as a more effective and lasting alternative to the death penalty. The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is a judicial practice in which an offender is executed upon conviction of a capital offense or capital crime. This practice is based on the principle of revenge, where the punishment is equal to the original injury suffered, i.e., “an eye for an eye”,
“a tooth for a tooth”.
Dr. Illah noted that the death penalty has a long history, dating back to 1750 BC, and has been used as a punitive measure for heinous crimes in most societies. According to Amnesty International, the number of executions in Nigeria is often unclear, with approximately 2,700 convicts still on death row between 2010 and 2020. Furthermore, a human rights group, Global Rights, reported that Nigeria recorded 800 extrajudicial killings between 2020 and 2023.
Dr. Illah emphasized that while the right to life is a fundamental and universal human right, various jurisdictions worldwide have established permissible limitations to this right, including the imposition of the death penalty. In Nigeria, Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution affirms the legality of the death penalty, stating 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.”
Dr. Illah listed capital offenses in Nigeria, including murder, treason, conspiracy to commit treason, armed robbery, treachery, and fabricating false evidence leading to the conviction and death of an innocent person. Upon conviction, capital crime offenders are executed through firing squad, hanging, stoning, or lethal injection.
In his stern position, Dr. Illah argued that the imposition of the death penalty in Nigeria is redundant and risky, as it has not led to the desired social structure reformation in the administration of criminal justice. Moreover, the death penalty is monotonous, with those sentenced to death often languishing on death row, requiring substantial monetary resources for their upkeep.
He noted that a country operating under such a legal order can rarely exist outside the realm of legal infractions and socio-economic imbalances.
Looking ahead, the esteemed academic and human rights advocate asserts that “life imprisonment, through reformatory and rehabilitative measures, provides offenders with the opportunity to embrace righteousness, having experienced the consequences of wrongdoing.
“If fully enforced, life imprisonment will facilitate rehabilitation and re-education programs for convicts, thereby preserving life and avoiding execution, death row, and miscarriages of justice. Fundamentally, it is essential to acknowledge that death is an irreversible phenomenon, whereas life imprisonment infringes less on human rights and is more cost-effective in the short and long term.
In light of this, countries, including Nigeria, that still prioritize capital punishment are advised to abolish the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment. This is because the impact of capital punishment extends beyond the victim and perpetrator; it affects everyone, including families, communities, governments, and society as a whole.
“It has been established that capital punishment poses a significant risk of executing innocent defendants. However, substituting life imprisonment for the death penalty will prevent innocent individuals from being executed for crimes they did not commit,” he stated further.
Dr. Illah emphasized that adopting social security measures, such as job creation, skills acquisition programs, enhanced remuneration, quality education, economic diversification, infrastructure development, and value re-orientation, would significantly impact Nigeria's situation. This is because criminal activities in Nigeria are largely socio-economic in nature.
“The administration of criminal justice worldwide has demonstrated that judges sometimes make mistakes. A 2022 report by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) revealed that approximately 61% of judges in Nigeria are likely to accept bribes to influence their judgments. In such cases, is the court not prone to sentencing innocent individuals to death? As such, the government is strongly advised to shift its focus from punishment to correction.
“The Rwandan government, for instance, employed the Gacaca dispute resolution and rehabilitation process, a community-based court system, instead of capital punishment for war convicts. This approach enabled Rwanda to avoid losses associated with capital punishment and facilitated rapid economic recovery.
“Globally, further efforts are needed to promote national legislation abolishing the death penalty, enforcing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which aims to abolish the death penalty,” Dr. Illah explained.
Dr. Illah recommended the establishment of “National farms or factories” in Nigeria, where convicts can be held for life and engaged in agricultural production to feed the population at market prices. Nigeria's vast arable land can be utilized for this purpose.
“Convicts can also receive training in ICT and social services, making them suitable for municipal interventions. This system will benefit both Nigerian society, by addressing unemployment, and the convicts, who will be enabled to engage in meaningful production, enjoy a decent life, and raise their families.
“Convicts can also be required to perform community service, such as road cleanups, working for free at public or private firms, or delivering public speeches on the consequences of their crimes and the importance of desisting from such acts,” he concluded.
***
A renowned criminologist and human rights interventionist, Dr. Illah Obadiah, has urged the Nigerian government to consider reforming the death penalty policy in favor of life imprisonment.
As the Chief Executive Officer of Confidence Building Initiative International (COBII), a non-governmental organization based in Lafia, Dr. Illah made this call recently in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State.
In addition to his role at COBII, Dr. Illah serves as a lecturer and Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) at Isa Mustapha Agwai I Polytechnic, Lafia, Nasarawa State.
According to Dr. Illah, the global community, social theorists, and criminologists are increasingly advocating for life imprisonment as a more effective and lasting alternative to the death penalty. The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is a judicial practice in which an offender is executed upon conviction of a capital offense or capital crime. This practice is based on the principle of revenge, where the punishment is equal to the original injury suffered, i.e., “an eye for an eye”,
“a tooth for a tooth”.
Dr. Illah noted that the death penalty has a long history, dating back to 1750 BC, and has been used as a punitive measure for heinous crimes in most societies. According to Amnesty International, the number of executions in Nigeria is often unclear, with approximately 2,700 convicts still on death row between 2010 and 2020. Furthermore, a human rights group, Global Rights, reported that Nigeria recorded 800 extrajudicial killings between 2020 and 2023.
Dr. Illah emphasized that while the right to life is a fundamental and universal human right, various jurisdictions worldwide have established permissible limitations to this right, including the imposition of the death penalty. In Nigeria, Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution affirms the legality of the death penalty, stating 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.”
Dr. Illah listed capital offenses in Nigeria, including murder, treason, conspiracy to commit treason, armed robbery, treachery, and fabricating false evidence leading to the conviction and death of an innocent person. Upon conviction, capital crime offenders are executed through firing squad, hanging, stoning, or lethal injection.
In his stern position, Dr. Illah argued that the imposition of the death penalty in Nigeria is redundant and risky, as it has not led to the desired social structure reformation in the administration of criminal justice. Moreover, the death penalty is monotonous, with those sentenced to death often languishing on death row, requiring substantial monetary resources for their upkeep.
He noted that a country operating under such a legal order can rarely exist outside the realm of legal infractions and socio-economic imbalances.
Looking ahead, the esteemed academic and human rights advocate asserts that “life imprisonment, through reformatory and rehabilitative measures, provides offenders with the opportunity to embrace righteousness, having experienced the consequences of wrongdoing.
“If fully enforced, life imprisonment will facilitate rehabilitation and re-education programs for convicts, thereby preserving life and avoiding execution, death row, and miscarriages of justice. Fundamentally, it is essential to acknowledge that death is an irreversible phenomenon, whereas life imprisonment infringes less on human rights and is more cost-effective in the short and long term.
In light of this, countries, including Nigeria, that still prioritize capital punishment are advised to abolish the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment. This is because the impact of capital punishment extends beyond the victim and perpetrator; it affects everyone, including families, communities, governments, and society as a whole.
“It has been established that capital punishment poses a significant risk of executing innocent defendants. However, substituting life imprisonment for the death penalty will prevent innocent individuals from being executed for crimes they did not commit,” he stated further.
Dr. Illah emphasized that adopting social security measures, such as job creation, skills acquisition programs, enhanced remuneration, quality education, economic diversification, infrastructure development, and value re-orientation, would significantly impact Nigeria's situation. This is because criminal activities in Nigeria are largely socio-economic in nature.
“The administration of criminal justice worldwide has demonstrated that judges sometimes make mistakes. A 2022 report by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) revealed that approximately 61% of judges in Nigeria are likely to accept bribes to influence their judgments. In such cases, is the court not prone to sentencing innocent individuals to death? As such, the government is strongly advised to shift its focus from punishment to correction.
“The Rwandan government, for instance, employed the Gacaca dispute resolution and rehabilitation process, a community-based court system, instead of capital punishment for war convicts. This approach enabled Rwanda to avoid losses associated with capital punishment and facilitated rapid economic recovery.
“Globally, further efforts are needed to promote national legislation abolishing the death penalty, enforcing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which aims to abolish the death penalty,” Dr. Illah explained.
Dr. Illah recommended the establishment of “National farms or factories” in Nigeria, where convicts can be held for life and engaged in agricultural production to feed the population at market prices. Nigeria's vast arable land can be utilized for this purpose.
“Convicts can also receive training in ICT and social services, making them suitable for municipal interventions. This system will benefit both Nigerian society, by addressing unemployment, and the convicts, who will be enabled to engage in meaningful production, enjoy a decent life, and raise their families.
“Convicts can also be required to perform community service, such as road cleanups, working for free at public or private firms, or delivering public speeches on the consequences of their crimes and the importance of desisting from such acts,” he concluded.
Dr. Illah Wants Death Penalty Replaced With Life Sentence, Convicts ‘Engaged In Agric Production’
***
A renowned criminologist and human rights interventionist, Dr. Illah Obadiah, has urged the Nigerian government to consider reforming the death penalty policy in favor of life imprisonment.
As the Chief Executive Officer of Confidence Building Initiative International (COBII), a non-governmental organization based in Lafia, Dr. Illah made this call recently in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State.
In addition to his role at COBII, Dr. Illah serves as a lecturer and Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) at Isa Mustapha Agwai I Polytechnic, Lafia, Nasarawa State.
According to Dr. Illah, the global community, social theorists, and criminologists are increasingly advocating for life imprisonment as a more effective and lasting alternative to the death penalty. The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is a judicial practice in which an offender is executed upon conviction of a capital offense or capital crime. This practice is based on the principle of revenge, where the punishment is equal to the original injury suffered, i.e., “an eye for an eye”,
“a tooth for a tooth”.
Dr. Illah noted that the death penalty has a long history, dating back to 1750 BC, and has been used as a punitive measure for heinous crimes in most societies. According to Amnesty International, the number of executions in Nigeria is often unclear, with approximately 2,700 convicts still on death row between 2010 and 2020. Furthermore, a human rights group, Global Rights, reported that Nigeria recorded 800 extrajudicial killings between 2020 and 2023.
Dr. Illah emphasized that while the right to life is a fundamental and universal human right, various jurisdictions worldwide have established permissible limitations to this right, including the imposition of the death penalty. In Nigeria, Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution affirms the legality of the death penalty, stating 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.”
Dr. Illah listed capital offenses in Nigeria, including murder, treason, conspiracy to commit treason, armed robbery, treachery, and fabricating false evidence leading to the conviction and death of an innocent person. Upon conviction, capital crime offenders are executed through firing squad, hanging, stoning, or lethal injection.
In his stern position, Dr. Illah argued that the imposition of the death penalty in Nigeria is redundant and risky, as it has not led to the desired social structure reformation in the administration of criminal justice. Moreover, the death penalty is monotonous, with those sentenced to death often languishing on death row, requiring substantial monetary resources for their upkeep.
He noted that a country operating under such a legal order can rarely exist outside the realm of legal infractions and socio-economic imbalances.
Looking ahead, the esteemed academic and human rights advocate asserts that “life imprisonment, through reformatory and rehabilitative measures, provides offenders with the opportunity to embrace righteousness, having experienced the consequences of wrongdoing.
“If fully enforced, life imprisonment will facilitate rehabilitation and re-education programs for convicts, thereby preserving life and avoiding execution, death row, and miscarriages of justice. Fundamentally, it is essential to acknowledge that death is an irreversible phenomenon, whereas life imprisonment infringes less on human rights and is more cost-effective in the short and long term.
In light of this, countries, including Nigeria, that still prioritize capital punishment are advised to abolish the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment. This is because the impact of capital punishment extends beyond the victim and perpetrator; it affects everyone, including families, communities, governments, and society as a whole.
“It has been established that capital punishment poses a significant risk of executing innocent defendants. However, substituting life imprisonment for the death penalty will prevent innocent individuals from being executed for crimes they did not commit,” he stated further.
Dr. Illah emphasized that adopting social security measures, such as job creation, skills acquisition programs, enhanced remuneration, quality education, economic diversification, infrastructure development, and value re-orientation, would significantly impact Nigeria's situation. This is because criminal activities in Nigeria are largely socio-economic in nature.
“The administration of criminal justice worldwide has demonstrated that judges sometimes make mistakes. A 2022 report by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) revealed that approximately 61% of judges in Nigeria are likely to accept bribes to influence their judgments. In such cases, is the court not prone to sentencing innocent individuals to death? As such, the government is strongly advised to shift its focus from punishment to correction.
“The Rwandan government, for instance, employed the Gacaca dispute resolution and rehabilitation process, a community-based court system, instead of capital punishment for war convicts. This approach enabled Rwanda to avoid losses associated with capital punishment and facilitated rapid economic recovery.
“Globally, further efforts are needed to promote national legislation abolishing the death penalty, enforcing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which aims to abolish the death penalty,” Dr. Illah explained.
Dr. Illah recommended the establishment of “National farms or factories” in Nigeria, where convicts can be held for life and engaged in agricultural production to feed the population at market prices. Nigeria's vast arable land can be utilized for this purpose.
“Convicts can also receive training in ICT and social services, making them suitable for municipal interventions. This system will benefit both Nigerian society, by addressing unemployment, and the convicts, who will be enabled to engage in meaningful production, enjoy a decent life, and raise their families.
“Convicts can also be required to perform community service, such as road cleanups, working for free at public or private firms, or delivering public speeches on the consequences of their crimes and the importance of desisting from such acts,” he concluded.
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