British High Commissioner, Paul T. Arkwright, has supported the position of European Union Heads of Mission against death penalty in Nigeria.
The EU has been campaigning for an end to execution of prisoners on death row.
The commissioner recalled that on 1st February, 2017, Lagos State signed a law authorizing death penalty for anyone convicted of kidnapping where the victim dies.
He also regretted that as recently as 23 December, 2016, Nigeria witnessed the execution of three prisoners by Edo State government.
Arkwright added that “These actions have undermined the progress Nigeria made in upholding the moratorium on the death penalty.
“I fully associate myself with the recent call by EU Heads of Mission for Nigeria to uphold the moratorium on the death penalty that has been in place since 2006.
“We remain open to working with the Nigerian government and civil society to push forward the debate towards abolition of the death penalty”.
The EU Heads of Mission had condemned the execution of the three prisoners by the Edo government.
The EU, in its reaction, underlined the universality of human rights, including the right to life and opposes the death penalty in all circumstances.
EU said: “It is a cruel punishment which fails to act as a deterrent of serious crime, and any miscarriage of justice – which is inevitable in any legal system – is irreversible.
“The EU notes that a de facto moratorium on the death penalty has been in place in Nigeria since 2006, though this moratorium was also broken in 2013 with executions in Edo state”.
The body urged Nigerian authorities to uphold the moratorium on the death penalty at a Federal and State level, and to take steps to accede to and ratify the second protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights leading ultimately to the abolition of the death penalty.
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