Human rights advocates, legal practitioners, and international partners have urged the Federal government to end the death penalty, as over 3,500 inmates remain on death row.

The stakeholders made the call during an event marking the 2025 International Day Against the Death Penalty in Abuja, co-organised by the German Embassy, Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) France, and the Australian High Commission.

ASF France marked the occasion celebrated every October 10, with the screening of the movie ‘Just Mercy’, a true-life story following Bryan Stevenson, a young Black lawyer and Harvard graduate who moves to Alabama to defend people wrongly convicted or too poor to afford proper legal help.

Speaking at the event, Country Director of ASF France, Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, highlighted Nigeria’s progress on death penalty reform.

She noted that the country has gone nine years without carrying out executions, with the last execution recorded in 2016 in Edo State.

She said the next critical step is for the government to declare an official moratorium on executions, moving beyond the current de facto abolition status.

“We have made some progress regarding the death penalty in Nigeria. One of the key achievements is that we have gone nine years without execution in Nigeria. That is definitely something to celebrate.

“The immediate next phase is a moratorium on the death penalty, a period where there can be an official pause against execution while laws regarding the death penalty are being considered,” Uzoma-Iwuchukwu explained.

According to Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, one of the things they have learned representing persons facing death penalty, providing free legal services and other support, is that the death penalty punishment protects no one and has shown that it is used disproportionately against the most vulnerable in society.

“The stories are the same. Our clients are subjected to the worst form of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. And this is always because we have the mandatory death penalty in Nigeria. That simply means that Nigeria is one of the countries where there are certain crimes that the law says must be punished by death,” she stated.

German Ambassador to Nigeria, Annett Günther, restated her country’s opposition to capital punishment.

She said the German government had abolished the death penalty years ago, and would continue to advocate worldwide for abolition or at least a moratorium on executions.

“It is estimated that globally over 20,000 individuals are currently on death row and awaiting execution through very gruesome methods. Among them are 3,500 Nigerians,” she stated.

The envoy said that capital punishment goes beyond legal issues, touching the fundamental values of human dignity and the right to life.

The ambassador noted that the global trend shows increasing rejection of the death penalty, with 144 countries abolishing it either in law or practice.

She referenced a recent United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions, which was adopted with a strong majority vote.

Also speaking at the event, the Charge d’Affaires of the Australian High Commission to Nigeria, Neil Sanderson, called on Nigeria to take decisive steps toward abolishing the death penalty, describing it as a cruel, inhumane and ineffective punishment that undermines human dignity and justice.

Sanderson reaffirmed Australia’s unwavering opposition to capital punishment in all cases, stressing that the global tide has shifted firmly against it.

“Australia’s position is clear. We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and continue to call for its global abolition,” he said.

Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu, said this year’s theme — “The Death Penalty Protects No One: Abolish It Now” is both timely and aligned with the NHRC’s core mandate to promote and protect the right to life.

He described the irreversible nature of the death penalty as deeply troubling, particularly in cases where judicial errors may occur.

The NHRC urged Nigerians to use the occasion not only to reflect but also “to advocate, to educate, and to build momentum toward a Nigeria where justice does not come at the cost of life.

President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Josiah Osigwe Etaba Agbor observed that courts can make mistakes, and the death penalty leaves no room for second chances. (The Guardian)