The House of Representatives Committee on Human Rights has said that a bill to amend Nigeria’s Penal and Criminal Codes, aiming to abolish or significantly reduce the use of the death penalty is underway.

The Criminal Code currently governs the Southern states, while the Penal Code applies to the Northern states. Both legal frameworks define criminal offences, guide investigations, regulate trials, and prescribe punishments.

Abiola Makinde, the lawmaker representing Ondo East/Ondo West Federal Constituency and Chairman of the Committee, disclosed this development while providing an update on a separate bill for an Act to recognise and protect human rights defenders and enhance capacity of the capacity of the government of Nigeria to protect human rights defenders. The Human Rights Defenders Bill, which he co-sponsored, passed its second reading during a plenary session.

“We are working on amending our criminal and penal code. We’ve seen situations where a little issue in one state will result into death penalty for no reason whatsoever. I mean, if you steal just a broom, or just a minor issue, they sentence you to death. We are also need to recinsider those who are mentally challenged. If they ended up in anything that has to do with a criminal situation, we have to consider their impairment”, Makinde stated.

He further explained that discussions with relevant commissions have been ongoing to determine how best to amend the Penal and Criminal Codes.

“Part of what we’ve been able to discuss with the National Human Rights Committee is to see how we can amend the penal and the criminal code so that we can abolish death penalty, that process is on.

“The deputy speaker, of course, has done his part by trying to amend the constitution. However, my job now is to amend the penal and the criminal code. That way, the judges can have that discretion to know exactly what to do as far as those minor cases are concerned, and not have to sentence them to death. So we may not totally abolish that death penalty, but at least to reduce it to the minimum”, he added.

Speaking on the human rights bill, he expanded that the bill seeks to ensure that Nigeria upholds its duty in protecting and defending the rights of citizens.

He expressed concerns that civil society organisations and several other human rights defenders have endured several intimidation and harassment which the committee have recognised.

The lawmaker said Nigeria ought to foster an environment at which all these human rights defenders can work. Makinde added that the bill, if passed will also ensure funding for human right agencies to do their job in prosecuting cases of offenders which he noted has piled up over the years. (BusinessDay)