The United Nations may have decided to intervene and halt the execution of 54 convicted mutinous soldiers of the Nigerian Army following the decision of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or Summary Executions, Mr. Christof Heyns to take appropriate action including communication with the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to halt the imminent execution of the soldiers.
The UN official is said to be taking the action following a petition submitted to Mr Heyns by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in December 2014.
SERAP had asked five UN human rights independent experts to individually and jointly use their “good offices and positions to urgently request the Nigerian government and its military authorities not to carry out the mass death sentences imposed on 54 Nigerian soldiers.”
This was disclosed yesterday in a statement signed by the Executive Director of SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni.
According Mumuni, SERAP has been in discussion with Johel Dominique at the Office of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary or summary executions both on the telephone and via email. Johel Dominique has confirmed that the Special Rapporteur is considering appropriate action to avert the imminent execution of 54 soldiers on death row in the country. “We have also confirmed to the Special Rapporteur that SERAP has the consent of Mr Femi Falana, SAN, and the legal counsel to the 54 soldiers to file the petition.
“SERAP welcomes the decision by Mr. Christof Heyns to intervene in the matter. Given his longstanding human rights commitment and achievements, we have absolutely no doubt that Mr Heyns will work assiduously to ensure that justice is done in this matter and we wish him well as he strives to do that”.
According to Mumuni, SERAP, as stated in its petition, believes that, “It is not right or fair to try everyone in mass proceedings, and that such unfair trial should not send someone to the gallows. Imposition of mass death sentences is in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a party.
“This Covenant limits the circumstances in which a state can impose the death sentence.”
The five special rapporteurs SERAP petitioned include: Christof Heyns, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Juan Méndez, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Pablo de Greiff, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; Mads Andenas, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and Ben Emmerson, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism.
The SERAP statement also condemned the practice of holding courts-martial in secret as “a mockery of justice”, accusing it of ignoring issues raised by the condemned men that “suggest lack of transparency, accountability and general deficiencies” in the handling of the security budget and arms purchases.
SERAP also said in the petition that “Under international law, cases involving capital punishment such as the present one require the full and scrupulous respect of the guarantees of highest standards of fairness, due process and justice.
“All human rights depend for their enjoyment the right to life, which is the most fundamental of all rights. The right to life symbolizes everything that the United Nations works and stands for be it in the area of peace and security, development or human rights”.
The group argued that that the imposition of mass death sentences was unjust and incompatible with fundamental human rights.
SERAP said further: “The UN has also acknowledged the discriminatory and arbitrary nature of judicial processes and the danger of the death penalty being used as a tool of repression. It has documented evidence to show that the death penalty is no deterrent, stressing that depriving a human person of his or her life is incompatible with the trend in the twenty-first century.”
The Nigerian Army General Court Martial sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday the 17th of December convicted 54 soldiers for conspiracy to commit mutiny and sentenced them to death by firing squad. They were accused of disobeying a direct order from their Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Timothy Opurum. The soldiers are from the 111 Special Forces.
The facts of the case indicate that the soldiers, from the 111 Special Forces were charged for disobeying a direct order from their commanding officer, Timothy Opurum, a Lieutenant Colonel, to take part in an operation to recapture Delwa, Bulabulin and Damboa in Borno State from Boko Haram terrorists on August 4.
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