The Nigerian Prisons Service said yesterday that inmates on death row were as high as 3,298 in prisons across the country because of the increasing number of human rights groups.
According to the Prisons, this has discouraged governors from signing the death warrants of prisoners on death row.
The Public Relations Officer of the Service, Mr Abubakar Umar, who disclosed this in Abuja, however, also said the term “condemned criminal” had been abrogated.
He said governors now shy away from signing the death warrants of inmates on death row to avoid attacks from human rights bodies.
Umar noted that many inmates on death row, IDRs, had been executed in the past before the proliferation of the activities of human rights groups and organisations.
He said: ”Currently, there is somewhat a kind of moratorium on execution of offenders.
“Before the moratorium on execution of IDRs became widespread, executions of IDRs were being carried out as and at when due.
“But with the rising activities of human rights groups, many governments shy away from signing the death warrants of these offenders.
“Though it is still in practice, it is not common as it used to be. The last execution of IDRs was carried out in 2016 in Edo.
“We encourage state governors who shy away from signing the death warrants, to commute them into other sanctions.”
According to him, with the emergence of the NCoS Act 2019 which made the prisons correctional centres, the term “condemned criminal” has been abrogated because of its stigmatising nature.
He said the prisons service preferred to use a more friendly term of ‘inmates on death row, IDR’, pointing out that death sentences were not always carried out immediately after they were imposed.
Umar said: “There are often long periods of uncertainty for the convicted while their cases are being appealed at higher levels.
“Some offenders have been executed more than 15 years after their convictions.
“They were basically awaiting the hangman’s noose in our custodial centres after being found guilty of capital offences.
“We have quite a number of them; as of today, we have a total of 3,298 inmates on death row. They constitute about 4.5 per cent of the total number of inmates in our various custodial centres nationwide.”
The prisons’ scribe said some IDRs had been in custody for many years, adding that some had been there since they were arrested up to when they were tried and sentenced.
According to him, many of them committed capital offences such as culpable homicide, armed robbery and terrorism, among others.
“The good thing is that we engage all of them in activities that will reform and modify their behaviours. The goal is to make them better citizens of the nation.
“We also make them undergo personal development programmes such as anger management, civic education as well as entrepreneurship.
“Some of them, who do well and show some glimpse of hard work, industry and discipline, are recommended for clemency to the relevant authorities,” he said.
