PETITION FOR THE REINSTATEMENT AND STRICT APPLICATION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN NIGERIA

From:
Concerned Citizens of Nigeria

Subject:
An Urgent Appeal for Capital Punishment to Curb the Epidemic of Murder and Violence in Nigeria

1. Preamble

We, the undersigned, are law-abiding, peace-loving, and deeply concerned citizens of Nigeria. We write with heavy hearts and a profound sense of urgency as we witness our nation being engulfed by an unprecedented wave of violence and homicide. Daily, we are confronted with news of ritual killings, armed robbery murders, domestic violence fatalities, terrorist massacres, and cold-blooded assassinations. The sanctity of human life, a core value of our society, is being eroded with terrifying regularity.

This petition is born out of a desperate need for justice, deterrence, and the restoration of order. We believe that the current penal system, particularly regarding the crime of murder, is insufficient to address the gravity of the crisis. While mercy is a virtue, it must not come at the expense of justice for victims and the safety of society.

1. The State of Emergency: A Nation Under Siege

Nigeria is facing a national security and moral emergency characterised by:

• Ritual Killings: The abhorrent trade in human body parts for money rituals, targeting often the young and vulnerable.
• Armed Robbery and Banditry: Violent crimes resulting in the indiscriminate loss of lives during home invasions, highway attacks, and community raids.
• Domestic Homicides: The tragic and frequent killing of spouses, often women, within the confines of the home.
• Terrorism and Insurgency: Mass executions and killings by non-state actors.
• Cult and Gang Violence: Rivalry-fueled murders that terrorise local communities.

The cumulative effect is a culture of impunity, where perpetrators believe they can take a life with little fear of proportionate consequence.

1. The Fundamental Question: Justice for Whom?

We pose these critical questions to our leaders and judiciary:

• Where is the mercy for the victim whose life was brutally cut short?
• Where is the justice for the families left in perpetual grief and trauma?
• Does a society that shows excessive mercy to remorseless killers not betray its innocent citizens?

The primary duty of the state is to protect life and property. When it fails to punish the ultimate crime—wilful murder—with the ultimate penalty, it undermines its own social contract and fails in this fundamental duty.

1. The Global Context: Lessons from Retentive Nations

Contrary to the global abolitionist trend, several nations maintain the death penalty for heinous crimes, recognising its role as an ultimate sanction. Their methods, while varied, underscore a commitment to severe punishment:

• United States of America: An advanced federation employs lethal injection as its primary method, with alternatives like electrocution, nitrogen gas, firing squad, and hanging in some states. This demonstrates that capital punishment can exist within a structured, legal, and modern judicial framework.
• Saudi Arabia: Under its legal system, public beheading for grave crimes reflects a zero-tolerance approach to offences that destabilise society.
• Several African Nations: Countries like Somalia, South Sudan, Botswana, and Egypt actively carry out executions, primarily by firing squad or hanging, for murder and treason.

Nigeria is not an outlier in considering this sanction. Our own laws, including the Criminal Code, Penal Code, and the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, provide for the death penalty. The problem is not the law, but its inconsistent application and near-total suspension.

1. Nigeria’s Existing Legal Framework and the Call to Action

Nigeria already has the legal architecture for capital punishment. The methods prescribed include:

• Hanging (the most common statutory method).
• Lethal Injection (provided for in the 2015 Administration of Criminal Justice Act).
• Stoning (under Sharia law in some northern states for specific offences).

We are not calling for new, draconian laws, but for the courageous, swift, and consistent implementation of existing laws. We demand:

1. Expedited Judicial Process: Establish special judicial panels or fast-track courts for capital offences to ensure trials are concluded within 12-18 months, with all appeals concluded swiftly thereafter.
2. Mandatory Death Sentence: For convicted murderers where the evidence is irrefutable, intent is clear, and the crime is particularly heinous (ritual killing, robbery-murder, multiple homicides, terrorist killing).
3. Transparent Execution Protocol: Officially designate lethal injection as the national method of execution, conducted humanely and privately, as a modern alternative to hanging.
4. End the De Facto Moratorium: The executive arm must affirm the judiciary’s sentences by signing execution warrants, ending the current state of abolition in practice.

1. Conclusion

Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent. The blood of countless Nigerians cries out for justice from the ground. We cannot build a peaceful society while the killers of our brothers, sisters, and children live on, often at state expense.

We urge you to act decisively. Reinstate capital punishment not as an act of vengeance, but as a solemn act of justice, a powerful deterrent, and a necessary step to reclaim our nation from the forces of death and chaos.

Let justice be done, let the innocent be vindicated, and let a clear message be sent across Nigeria: If you deliberately take an innocent life, you will forfeit your own.

We petition you to act. Save Nigeria.