Legal Defence and Assistance Project, a human rights organisation, has on Wednesday in Edo State condemned the killing of three death row inmates in an Edo State prison on 23rd December, 2016.
The organisation described the killing of the condemned prisoners, who were executed on the orders of Governor Godwin Obaseki, as an unlawful act.
The names of the condemned prisoners were given as Ogbomoro Omoregie, Apostle Igene and Mark Omosowhota.
National Coordinator of the organisation Mr. Chino Obiagwu, said that the executed prisoners were sentenced to death about 20 years ago by military tribunals under the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Decree as amended.
And that they were currently challenging their conviction and sentence at the court of appeal.
However, LEDAP accused the Edo State Government of violating the rights of the executed condemned prisoners by killing them at a time when their appeals were pending at the court of appeal and is surprised why the just sworn in governor would make the signing of the death warrants for the condemned prisoners a matter of great importance.
LEDAP expressed shocked at the action of Obaseki for signing the death warrants and caused the prisoners to be killed com
in spite of the fact that a letter of appeal was sent to him in a December 21, 2016 to shelve the planned execution pending the outcome of the appeal.
The organisation said the execution of the three condemned prisoners and those of four others whose death warrants were signed by former Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State in 2003 were a breach of the declaration by the Federal Government in the 2009 and 2014 Unversal Periodic Reports to the United Nations Human Rights Council that the country had put a moratorium in place on the use of the death penalty.
The statement read, “LEDAP is appalled that the earliest social duty of Governor Obaseki upon assumption of office was execution of his citizen on death row. We reiterate that all prisoners, including those sentenced to death, retain all the fundamental rights endowed on all citizens by the 1999 Constitution. This was re-emphasised by the Court of Appeal in the case of Peter Nemi v Attorney General of Lagos State in 1994. The Supreme Court of Nigeria also held in Nasir Bello v Attorney-General of Oyo State that a prisoner cannot be legally executed while his case is pending in court.”
