Sometime last month, we heard that the two
death row convicts, Daniel Nsofor and Osayinwinde Agbomien were granted
reprieve and their sentences commuted from death to life imprisonment (I don’t
know where that came from), but feelers coming from the governor’s office subsequently
debunked that claim, and now, in an interview granted to Vanguard Newspaper,
the governor put paid to whatever hopes the convicts may have had to life by
insisting – vehemently it seems – that they must die.
Daniel Nsofor was convicted on June 19,
1996 for torturing his female victim and killing her, while Agbomien was found
guilty of robbing, killing and dismembering the body parts of his own victim.
The convicts took advantage of the lifeline offered by the judicial frameworks
of the law all the way to the Supreme Court, but while the law was on their
side, luck however, was not; they were found guilty, and the death sentence was
upheld. Despite worldwide condemnation of the sentence and appeals by human
rights and anti-death penalty groups, governor Oshiomhole insisted that the penalty
must stand, as he gave assent to their execution following the affirmation of
their guilt by the Supreme Court.
He said, “God can have mercy on them, but I am unable, having regard to the
overall circumstances of the case, namely; killing and dismembering the body of
your victim and wanting to sell some of the parts and you ask me in the name of
human rights, let him live.
“I am convinced that
those people need to die. In the interest of society they need to die under the
law. The rule of law is different from resolutions by some NGOs, and nations
are not governed by NGO resolutions.
“As a governor, I
subscribed to an oath of office which says that I shall obey the constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including all laws without fear or favour.
I cannot be afraid to sign the death warrant of a man who has been found guilty
of murder.
“I have no apologies, I
didn’t sentence them to death. I am not the one who accused them, they were
accused by those they harassed. They have been tried, they have taken advantage
of the appellate courts all the way to the Supreme Court of the land and they
were found guilty. The law also says that having been found guilty and
sentenced to death, the governor could exercise prerogative of mercy, but I say
that I have no mercy on those who kill. Why should you compel me to have mercy
on those who kill?
“We must have a balanced
view of human rights in which the rights, not only of the man they killed, but
the right of his relations and much more importantly, to send a clear message
to would be murderers, that when you kill a human being and you are caught, you
are likely to die. If you don’t want to die, then abstain from killing. If
criminals abstain from killing, fewer people would be killed by robbers and
other murderers and that is the truth.
“If you tell me that the
man killed and has a right to life, I refuse that. Amnesty should not be
hypocritical about it, we have the records worldwide. Nations are governed by
their national values and it is debatable whether those who excuse murderers in
the eyes of God whether they are better human beings than those who insist that
‘if you kill that you too should be killed if found guilty of killing’.
“The second person was a
man who killed a woman. He robbed the woman, raped the woman and killed her.
And then he was found guilty of this offense by the Supreme Court of Nigeria
and you tell me, though he has killed, let him live. I say no. If he has
killed, let him die too. I am not the one who says he should die, it is the
law.
All I have done is that
the law says I should sign and I have obeyed the law by signing because even
the government is under the law.”
It is pertinent to point
out however, that the governor in recent past also exercised the prerogative of
mercy on other convicts who did not kill in the course of their nefarious
activities, lest I be accused of giving the governor two horns, a tail, and a
pitchfork in order to send him to the hell of the people’s court.
But I wonder; what, if
anything, does he hope to achieve by not showing mercy? His major reasons for
maintaining this stance is that they deserve to die, having committed heinous
crimes, that he’s only obeying the law, that other people’s rights to see
justice done are also involved, and that it is in society’s interests that they
die, all very pertinent reasons I must say. But then: Is it really within
society’s best interests? Does he really believe that such a sentence will
deter others wishing to tow the line of the soon-to-be deleted convicts? Is he
really working for the interests of the public in this regard? It seems so, as
no one can doubt the people-oriented nature of the good governor, but perhaps
there might be an underlying connection between this action and the upcoming
major event of 2015 in Nigerian politics – just
saying. The governor is a good man – yes – however happenings in najia
today have only proved one thing; the actions, decisions and proclamations of
our leaders in the long run help to serve an underlying selfish goal. Is that
the case here? Maybe, maybe not. We may never know. . .
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