The United Nations has called upon the Nigerian government to eliminate the death penalty.
As of last December, Nigeria’s correctional centers held 3,413 inmates on death row, according to Abubakar Umar, spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Services.
During the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Nigeria in Geneva, Switzerland, member states of the global body advocated for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty as a step toward its eventual abolition from Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
Nigeria’s delegation led by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, is currently in Geneva for the UPR, which happens every four to five years.
The UPR is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council that calls for each UN Member State to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years.
While presenting Nigeria’s report of its human rights efforts, Mr Fagbemi reeled out a plethora of laws and policies enacted by the government to curb rights abuses.
“Nigeria has enacted several legislations such as the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015), the Child Rights Act, and Anti-Torture Act amongst others to safeguard the rights of Nigerians,” the justice minister said, while being flanked by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jeddy-Agba.
