Gov Okowa’s Call For Abolition Of Death Penalty & Nigeria’s Criminal Justice

By David Fidelis/ONDO/

Frankly, I’ve become the shadow of myself since on Monday 14th March, 2019 when I heard on Grace  95.5 FM that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state again called for the abolishment of death penalty in Nigeria.

Recall that the Governor made the call when members of the Presidential Committee on Prisons Reforms led by its Chairman, Justice Ishaq Bello paid him a courtesy visit in Asaba. Though, that wasn’t the first time the Governor will make such call.

Okowa forgot that this is Nigeria,not USA, France or UK. Today, there are many crimes in Nigeria encompassing Armed robbery, rape, murder, treason and others leading to loss of lives and properties but Senator Okowa mentained that death penalty should be abolished and those who are already sentenced to death be converted to life imprisonment.

The level of damages which armed rubbers, murderers, Arsonists and people who commit treason have done to Nigeria as a nation is heartbreaking and unquantifiable as most robbers carry away the property of the victims, some kill them once they suspect that they may Identify them later and so on. I don’t think these kind of afformentioned people deserves nothing than death penalty.

Truth most be told, armed robbers are lovers of freedom and comfort. They are anxious to enjoy their loot and that’s why they do everything to escape after robbery operations. In other words, they fear ‘death’ not ‘life imprisonment’.

My intelligent friend and Law guru, Barrister Arijeniwa Adedoyin Alexander was of the opinion that death penalty destroys the sanctity of life but I think he forget that some armed robbers and hired assassins  gouge out the eyes of their victims permanently maimed. How should we treat a man who has treated his fellow human beings this way? I don’t think a brobber who is cruel to his  fellow human beings deserves a respect for sanctity of life. The only treatment suitable for such heartless robber is nothing but death in a most agonizing and undignified manner in order to serve as deterrent to others.

Barrister Arijeniwa said he’s never an advocate of death penalty because when you look at it critically, It doesn’t deter criminals. There is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than a prison term. Though, I disagreed to agree with him.

He said, It is understandable that most governments are unwilling to sign the death warrant just because they don’t want to append their signatures to anyone’s death. The last governor who signed death warrant was former Governor of Edo State and now the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Comrade  Adams Oshiomhole in 2012.

According to him, since this so called execution of the criminal takes a long time and process, leaving them to feed on tax payers money, why not from the beginning sentence them to life imprisonment?

He mentained that Government spends more money in the process of executing a convict that has been sentenced to death than they spend on those that are sentenced to life imprisonment and it also serves an avenue for those in position to syphon money all in the name of buying coffin, bullets, transportation among others.

Despite Barrister Arijeniwa’s dissection, juxtaposition and ex – ray,  the fact remains that we need to be tough on crime. In as much as everyone agrees that crime is bad and we need to stop it, then, I think death penalty is the only solution. Believe me, we Nigerians are very stubborn and difficult to control. Therefore, we must stop comparing our Nigeria with developed countries like USA, UK Germany, France among others because this is Nigeria, our thinking is different, our ideology is different from theirs.

Now, let us look at the case of the Anambra born Billoniar kidnap kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike also know as Evans.

 On September 17, 2018, An Ikeja High court sitting in Lagos sentenced two of his former gang members  to 41 years in prison.

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo sentenced the convicts, 32-year-old Kelvin Emenike Ukoh and Emeka Obasi, 33 over the abduction of one Ugoje Jude, a shipping agent, and his staff, Miss Piriye Gogo on August 3, 2012. Their conviction was bothered on conspiracy, kidnapping, armed robbery and murder.

Now, my question is how old would they be after spending 41 years in prison? Aren’t they going to be feeding on tax payers money for those years?

At the end of Evans case, do you want him sentenced to death or life imprisonment where our money will be spent on his feeding? In fact, sentencing a criminal to death and leaving him or her unexecuted leads to a situation where prison inmates coordinate criminal activities such as kidnapping from the prisons.

It is a known fact that Nigeria prisons are already congested courtsy of delay in judgement amongst others. Don’t you think we need prison reform?

Now, let’s look at the Biblical Paul the Apostle accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. That was a form of death penalty in the Bible.

Also, the Qur’an, approves death penalty as a weapon which will serve as a deterrent to criminally inclined citizens. It also says ‘ the reward for those who wage war against Allah and his messenger and strive to create disorder in the land, be slain or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off on alternate side or be banished from the land’.  What the Qur’an means is that armed robbers,hired assassins, Arsonists should be made to face capital punishment.

To me, the call for the abolition of death penalty is synonymous to calling for the institutionalization of treason, rape, murder or trial by ordeal, armed robbery, arson among others.

It’s just like saying let the victims of armed robbers stay maimed, or possibly die in addition to loosing their property and psychological imbalance while the armed robbers should go free or spend time in jail, feeding on tax payers money.

Permit me to rest my case by saying I disagree to agree with Sanator Ifeanyi Okowa that death penalty should be abolished in Nigeria because if we do not want maimed by armed robbers or sacked by armed robbers  from our houses, if we do not want hired assassins to annihilate us, if we don’t want murder to become the order of the day, if we don’t want to glorify treason and give it an undue price of place, if we want to prove to the whole world that we believe in the rule of law, then, death penalty must not be scrap out in Nigeria considering our culture, nature and orientation plus the fact that armed robbers, arsonists, murderers, rapists are enemies of our society and Nigeria as a whole.

Fidelis David O. is a Journalist, Feature Writer and a Polemicist based in Ondo State. fidelisdavid5@gmail.comO7060835375(SMS Only)