Three Nigerians and five other nationals condemned to death in Indonesia for drug smuggling refused blindfolds and sang hymns as they marched to the stakes, reports have said.

They sang “Amazing Grace” and some other spirituals as they went to face the firing squad in a jungle clearing, according to a pastor who was with them, an AFP report said.

Okwudili Oyatanze, Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise and Raheem Agbajee Salami (who was reportedly travelling on a Spanish passport when he was caught), and Ghana’s Martin Anderson were shot by firing squad yesterday along with two Australians, one Brazilian and one Indonesian, despite strident foreign appeals and pleas from family members.

A Filipina originally set to be executed was given an 11th hour reprieve after a woman who allegedly duped her into ferrying drugs to Indonesia came forward to police in the Philippines.

The reprieve for Mary Jane Veloso was hailed in the Philippines as a miracle and a gift from God, but Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo stressed it was only a “postponement” to allow time for police investigations.

He added: “We are fighting a war against horrible drug crimes that threaten our nation’s survival.

“I would like to say that an execution is not a pleasant thing. It is not a fun job,” Prasetyo told reporters in Cilacap.

“But we must do it in order to save the nation from the danger of drugs. We are not making enemies of countries from where those executed came. What we are fighting against is drug-related crimes.”

•Photo shows the executed Nigerians.