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Tag: Death penalty

  • Jigawa lawmakers approve death penalty for kidnappers, life imprisonment for rapists

    Jigawa lawmakers approve death penalty for kidnappers, life imprisonment for rapists

    The Jigawa State House of Assembly has passed into law a bill for the prohibition of violence against persons.

    Hon. Idris Garba Jahun, the Speaker of the House, announced this on Wednesday’s sitting.

    Hon. Idris Garba Jahun said passage of the bill into law followed the adoption of the report of the House Standing Committee on Judiciary chaired by the member representing Hadejia constituency, Hon. Abubakar Jallo.

    The bill which had fifty-seven recommendations from the committee before it was signed into law, is in line with Islamic and societal norms as well as operating justice system and procedure.

    The new law stated that anyone convicted for rape will bag a life imprisonment alongside those who helped in committing the offence. Victims of rape are to receive a compensation of not less than N500,000.

    It also prescribes death sentence for kidnappers and also for rapists who infected their victims with HIV. It adds;

    “The case of kidnapping is death penalty, while a rape case is life imprisonment and if the victim is infected with HIV Aids, then the culprit will receive a death penalty.

    “Anybody who attempts to commit rape shall upon conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than 14 years and without the option of fine.

    “Also, under the law, the use of vulgar language and nude pictures by traditional medicine sellers is prohibited and punishable.”

  • Nigerian man escapes death penalty in Singapore, acquitted 9-yrs after arrest over alleged capital offense

    Nigerian man escapes death penalty in Singapore, acquitted 9-yrs after arrest over alleged capital offense

    Nigerian man named Ilechukwu Uchechukwu Chukwudi has escaped death penalty after Singapore’s Court of Appeal reversed its own decision on Thursday September 17, a judgement widely reported as a rare reversal acquit.

    WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the Nigerian convict had faced a capital drug trafficking charge and was arrested 9 years ago for allegedly trafficking almost 2kg (1,963.3g) of methamphetamine found in a black trolley bag he took with him from Nigeria into Singapore in 2011.

    Recall that on Nov 13, 2011, Ilechukwu flew from Lagos, Nigeria to Singapore after collecting a black luggage at the Nigerian airport. He found only clothes in it and the luggage passed several immigration checks in both countries without problems.

    He handed the bag to a Singaporean stall assistant named Hamidah Awang at a Clarke Quay bus stop. Hamidah’s car was then searched at Woodlands Checkpoint and drugs were discovered in the luggage.

    Ilechukwu was charged with trafficking in at least 1,963.3g of methamphetamine while Hamidah was charged with attempting to export the drugs.

    However, Ilechukwu was acquitted after a trial in the High Court in 2014 but the apex court then reversed that decision in 2015 and found him guilty of drug trafficking.

    The apex court then sent the case back to Justice Lee to determine if Ilechukwu should be given life imprisonment or the death penalty.

    His lawyers, Mr Eugene Thuraisingam, Mr Suang Wijaya and Mr Johannes Hadi from Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, as well as Ms Jerrie Tan from K&L Gates Straits Law then successfully argued for the decision to be reviewed.

    However, in 2017, his lawyers successfully persuaded the same panel of apex court judges to review the conviction due to a “unique turn of events”.

    It was the first time in legal history where the Court of Appeal agreed that there could be enough new material to say that its previous decision was wrong.

    Last year, the High Court judge found that Ilechukwu did previously suffer from PTSD and had experienced some post-traumatic stress symptoms when giving his statements.

    On Thursday, the four apex court judges who acquitted Ilechukwu found that there was now a “plausible innocent explanation” for Ilechukwu’s lies and omissions.

    His motive could no longer only be attributed to his guilty mind, they added.

    The apex court ruled 4-1 to acquit him with Judge of Appeal Tay Yong Kwang dissenting. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Senior Judge Chao Hick Tin, and Judges of Appeal Judith Prakash and Andrew Phang ruled in Ilechukwu’s favour.

    In a statement after the acquital, Ilechukwu’ lawyers said: “It has been a long and hard-fought pro bono case, involving specialist psychiatric evidence and issues of cross-cultural sensitivities. We are delighted that justice has prevailed to acquit our client this morning.

    Congratulatory messages have been pouring in for Eugene Thuraisingam and his leagal team since the acquital.

  • Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks charged with felony murder

    Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks charged with felony murder

    Days after shooting and killing of a black man identified as Rayshard Brooks in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, the white Atlanta police officer identified aa Garret Rolfe will face a charge of felony murder and 10 other charges.

    According to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, Garrett Rolfe, who fired the fatal shots at Rayshard Brooks could face a possible sentence of life without parole or the death penalty.

    Howard said, “We’ve concluded at the time that Mr. Brooks was shot that he did not pose an immediate threat of death,”.

    Rolfe, who has since been fired from the police department, was also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and violations of office, and other offenses punishable by decades behind bar.

    The other officer, Devin Brosnan, who remains with the Atlanta Police Department and has been placed on administrative desk duty, is also facing charges. Among them is aggravated assault, which carries a possible sentence of one to 20 years in prison.

    The district attorney said Brosnan is cooperating with prosecutors and will testify, saying it was the first time in 40 such cases in which an officer had come forward to do so. But an attorney for Brosnan emphatically denied he had agreed to be a prosecution witness and said he was not pleading guilty to anything.

    Arrests warrants have been issued for both men.

    The decision to bring charges comes five days after the officers were called to a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant. They found Brooks asleep in his car, and he admitted to officers that he had been drinking earlier.

  • Saudi Arabia ends death penalty for crimes committed by minors after ‘effectively’ abolishing flogging

    Saudi Arabia ends death penalty for crimes committed by minors after ‘effectively’ abolishing flogging

    Human Rights Commission in Saudi Arabia has announced that the kingdom is ending the death penalty for crimes committed by minors.

    This was contained in a statement published on Sunday made available to media houses.

    The President of the state-backed commission Awwad Alawwad said; “the decree helps us in establishing a more modern penal code.”

    “Instead, the individual will receive a prison sentence of no longer than 10 years in a juvenile detention facility,” the statement said.

    The decree is expected to spare the lives of at least six men from the minority Shia community who are on death row.

    The six men were accused of taking part in anti-government protests during the Arab Spring uprisings while they were under the age of 18.

    “This is an important day for Saudi Arabia,” said Awwad Alawwad. “The decree helps us in establishing a more modern penal code.”

    Details of when the new ruling would come into effect were not provided, but it comes two days after it was revealed that Saudi Arabia would no longer use flogging as a punishment for crimes, bringing to an end the practice for which the kingdom has long been criticised.

    A record 184 people were executed in the kingdom in 2019, according to human rights group Amnesty International.

  • Nasarawa governor signs death penalty bill for kidnappers

    Nasarawa governor signs death penalty bill for kidnappers

    Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has assented to the Bill which prescribed death penalty for anyone found indulging in kidnapping in the state.

    Sule signed into law the “Nasarawa State kidnapping Act Prohibition Law 2020” and “Child-Protection Executive Order” Bill.

    “I need to state that the Nasarawa State Kidnapping Act Prohibition Law was extensively deliberated and passed by the State House of Assembly.

    “This law spelt out various offences relating to kidnapping and prescribed stringent punishment for perpetrators, such as life imprisonment and death penalty,” the governor said.

    Governor Sule added that the law stipulates forfeiture of any property used by kidnappers to the state while the owners of such property would be liable to 20 years jail term.

    He listed various penalties ranging from death to imprisonment for those involved in Kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, attempt to kidnap, fake kidnap, false representation to release a kidnapped victim, and assisting in escape of kidnappers as various penalties.

    The governor had also inaugurated a committee to reform the penal code in line with the modern realities.

    Earlier, Abdulkarim Kana, Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General of Nasarawa State, expressed gratitude to the governor for signing the law and the inauguration of the committees.

    The Commissioner added that the action would go long way toward tackling criminality in the state.

    He said that the ministry would ensure that kidnappers face the full wrath of the law.

    In an interview with newsmen, Mr Aliyu Abubakar, Director General, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria commended the Nasarawa State government for the bold steps to curtail kidnapping which has become a menace.

    He also called on other governors to emulate the Nasarawa State Government toward ensuring that increasing insecurity in the country was tackle.

  • Death Penalty: Reactions Trail Maryam Sanda’s Appeal

    Death Penalty: Reactions Trail Maryam Sanda’s Appeal

    It is no longer news that Maryam Sanda was sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.

    Within Nigeria had earlier reported that Maryam Sanda appealed the FCT High Court judgement which she felt was a ‘miscarriage of justice.’

    Maryam Sanda stated that the trial judge, Justice Yusuf Halilu who sentenced her to death by hanging on Jan. 27 was tainted by bias and prejudices.

    Following her appeal of the judgment which according to her was tainted by bias and prejudices, which led to the denial of her right to fair hearing and her consequent conviction based on circumstantial evidence despite the reasonable doubt that was created by evidence of witnesses, lack of confessional statement, absence of murder weapon, lack of corroboration of evidence by two or more witnesses and lack of autopsy report to determine the true cause of her husband’s death, reactions continue to trail as there are mixed reactions concerning the matter.

    Twitter community has been agog with some wondering her ground for appeal. See some of the reactions below.

    https://twitter.com/AliyuBamalli14/status/1227929853992873985

     

    https://twitter.com/YusufAtanda11/status/1230764356305969152

    https://twitter.com/NinaMeelah/status/1227538267786137606

     

  • Maryam Sanda appeals death penalty

    Maryam Sanda appeals death penalty

    Maryam Sanda has approached the court of appeal, Abuja division and requested the court to set aside the verdict of an FCT High Court and acquit her over the alleged killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.

    Maryam Sanda stated that the trial judge, Justice Yusuf Halilu who sentenced her to death by hanging on Jan. 27 was tainted by bias and prejudices.

    According to her, this led to the denial of her right to fair hearing and her consequent conviction based on circumstantial evidence despite the reasonable doubt that was created by evidence of witnesses, lack of confessional statement, absence of murder weapon, lack of corroboration of evidence by two or more witnesses and lack of autopsy report to determine the true cause of her husband’s death.

    In a notice of appeal predicated on 20 grounds and filed by her legal team composed of Rickey Tarfa, SAN, Olusegun Jolaawo, SAN, Regina Okotie-Eboh and Beatrice Tarfa, the applicant said the judgment of the trial court was completely “a miscarriage of justice.”

    She pointed to the failure of the trial judge to rule, one way or the other, on her preliminary objection, challenging the charge preferred against her and the jurisdiction of the court as evidence of bias and a denial of her right to fair hearing as constitutionally guaranteed.

    In her application, she said: “The honourable trial judge erred in law when having taken arguments on the appellant’s preliminary objection to the validity of the charge on the 19th of March, 2018 failed to rule on it at the conclusion of trial or at any other time.

    “The trial judge exhibited bias against the defendant in not ruling one way or the other on the said motion challenging his jurisdiction to entertain the charge and therefore fundamentally breached the right to fair hearing of the defendant.”

    In ground II, the appellant contended that the trial judge erred and misdirected himself by usurping the role of the police when he assumed the duty of an Investigating Police Officer (IPO) as contained in Page 76 of his judgment.

    It was submitted that “the circumstantial evidence which the trial court relied upon in its application of the last seen doctrine does not lead to the conclusion that the defendant is responsible for the death of the deceased.”

    Consequently, Sanda prayed the Court of Appeal to allow her appeal, set aside her conviction and sentence imposed by Justice Halilu and acquit her

    No date has been fixed for hearing in the matter.

  • Death penalty for ex-Pakistan president thrown out

    Death penalty for ex-Pakistan president thrown out

    A Court in Pakistan has overturned the death sentence handed down to former president Pervez Musharraf by declaring the legal process unconstitutional.

    Gen Musharraf had challenged the formation of special court, which found him guilty of treason last December.

    On Monday, the Lahore High Court sided with the exiled general, who seized power in a 1999 coup and was president from 2001 to 2008.

    The decision meant Gen Musharraf was “a free man”, one prosecutor said.

    “The filing of the complaint, the constitution of the court, the selection of the prosecution team are illegal, declared to be illegal… And at the end of the day the full judgment has been set aside,” the government prosecutor, Ishtiaq A. Khan, explained to news agency AFP.

    He added there was “no judgment against him any longer”.

  • Hate speech bill: FFK list those that needs to be hanged first before he supports motion

    Hate speech bill: FFK list those that needs to be hanged first before he supports motion

    The former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode on Monday said that he will only give his support to the much-criticised Hate Speech bill if certain people in government are punished for their hateful words over the years.

    Fani-Kayode stated this on his Twitter handle on Monday.

    The Former Minister identified names like Bola Tinubu who is a former governor of Lagos state and a leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna state, the current minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi was also included in the list.

    Fani-Kayode said “I will support the Hate Speech Bill if its provisions are made retroactive & if its first victims are Buhari, Bola Tinubu, Lai Mohammed, Nasir El Rufai, Festus Keyamo & Rotimi Amaechi. Promise to hang them first for their hateful words over the years & the Bill gets my support”

    Many Nigerians have kicked against the bill, describing the bill as ‘ Threat to their fundamental rights’.

    Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, the sponsor of the bill, on his own side, said  that opponents of the bill are ignorant of the dangers that loom if the bill is not passed into law, he said they are only pretending to ‘protect freedom of speech’.

  • Hate Speech Bill: UN Condemns Death Penalty

    Hate Speech Bill: UN Condemns Death Penalty

    The United Nations deputy secretary-general Amina J. Muhammed Tuesday said the UN does not support death sentence as a penalty for persons found guilty of hate speech.

    Muhammed, a former Nigerian minister, was in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city to meet President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “We, of course, did not support the death penalty and I am also happy to see that portion was taken out of the legislation that was being put forward,” Muhammed said.

    The UN chief said hate speech is spiking all over the world and that combating it is a priority for the United Nations.

    “The (UN) Secretary-General had also put in place a special ending on hate speech. So, there is a strategy for that now and we are looking at that globally,” she said.

    The bill to combat hate speech is currently before the National Assembly. The prescription of the death penalty for offenders has drawn the ire of many.

    But Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, the sponsor of the much-criticised bill said the aspect that proposes death penalty for defaulters of the law will be expunged.

    “We have followed closely arguments for and against the hate speech bill, and seen the reason why some kicked against it,” Abdullahi said.

    “Given the high respect which we have for Nigerians, we will make amendment to the death penalty aspect that most Nigerians objected to, so that a bill that meets their expectations is passed into law.”

    The former spokesperson for the Nigerian Senate said the bill would undergo some fine-tuning to ensure that the clauses contained in its provisions to be passed into law, reflect the views of Nigerians.