Nigeria: Death penalty violates fundamental human rights and is used in a discriminatory way against women

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: AFR 44/007/2004

Embargo Date: 10 February 2004 00:01 GMT

The death penalty as applied in Nigeria violates fundamental human rights
and is sometimes used in a discriminatory way against women, Amnesty
International said today in a new and its first report on women and the
death penalty entitled: "Nigeria: The death penalty and women under the
Nigerian penal systems". "The Nigerian government should abolish the death
penalty and place an immediate moratorium on any pending executions," the
organization said.

Amnesty International welcomes the government's initiative to set up the
National Study Group on the Death Penalty, with a mandate to make
recommendations to the Federal Government on the status of the death
penalty by June 2004. "The National Study Group on the Death Penalty
should avail itself of this opportunity and incorporate abolition in its
final recommendations."

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty, for both men and women,
in all cases. It is a violation of fundamental human rights - the right to
life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading
punishment.

"The finality and cruelty inherent in the death penalty, and the lack of
evidence showing it to be a deterrent to violent crimes, make it an
inappropriate and unacceptable response to crime," the organization added.

In the report Amnesty International highlights cases of women facing the
death penalty and whose rights to a fair trial and due process have been
denied both under the criminal law system and the new Sharia penal codes.

Women are charged with capital offences and are in some cases awaiting
trial for prolonged periods of time, without access to legal
representation. "Under the criminal law system women are in some cases
kept in prison awaiting execution for up to 10 years," the organization
said. This is contrary to international human rights law and standards as
well as Nigerian law.

A woman sentenced to death for culpable homicide under the Penal Code,
told Amnesty International delegates: "I had a baby but the baby died. The
foetus was only eight months old. My husband had divorced me. When I was
questioned at the police station I said the baby was still-born. In court,
I pleaded for myself. The court asked 'Did you murder this child?', and I
replied 'No'. A doctor looked at the dead baby. He said it was still-born.
He told the police but was never called to court to witness. I have been
in detention and prison for over 10 years."

The report also examines ways in which the application of the death
penalty discriminates against women in certain cases and for certain
crimes. Such discrimination derives from the categories of crimes that
carry the death penalty and from the particular difficulties women face in
accessing justice. This discriminatory effect is particularly apparent on
women from socio-economically deprived backgrounds and who are illiterate,
who have no husband and who become pregnant outside marriage.

Whereas Nigeria's Penal Code and Criminal Code provide for
abortion-related offences that would carry a maximum sentence of
imprisonment, Amnesty International has documented cases of women who have
been charged with and convicted for capital offences for abortion-related
offences.

Under the new Sharia penal codes introduced in 12 northern states in
Nigeria since 1999, the death penalty is also applicable for the criminal
offence of zina- understood as sexual relations outside marriage. Amnesty
International is concerned that the offence of zina falls outside the
category of 'most serious crimes' for which the death penalty can be
applied according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

"The death penalty used in this way violates not only the right to life,
but also the right to be free from discrimination, freedom of expression
and association and the right to privacy," the organization added.

Amnesty International opposes the criminalization of consensual sexual
relations between people over the age of consent. "Nobody over the age of
consent should be charged or convicted for having consensual sex."

Background

The death penalty is still on the statute books in Nigeria. The
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1999 does not
prohibit its application. According to Amnesty International's
information, Nigerian courts have handed down at least 33 death sentences
since 1999. As of July 2003 there were 487 people awaiting the execution
of their death sentence.

Death sentences can be imposed under both the criminal law system (the
Penal Code and the Criminal Code) and the Sharia penal system. Under
criminal law it is applicable for criminal offences such as murder,
culpable homicide, robbery and treason. The offence of culpable homicide
is applied in some cases for abortion-related offences under the Penal
Code and is known to disproportionately affect women.

Since 1999, 12 states in northern Nigeria have introduced new Sharia penal
legislation. Under these, the application of the death penalty has been
extended to offences such as zina, rape, incest, and "sodomy" as defined
in Sharia penal codes. A person who has committed zina is defined by these
penal codes as:"whoever, being a man or a woman fully responsible, has
sexual intercourse through the genital [sic] of a person over whom he has
no sexual rights and in circumstances in which no doubt exists as to the
illegality of the act". The offence of zina carries a mandatory sentence
of death by stoning if the person is married or by flogging if the person
is not married. It is only an offence for Muslims. Rules of evidence under
the new Sharia penal legislations discriminate against women since the
mere fact of her being pregnant is taken as evidence of her having
performed the act of zina. However, a man on trial for this offence and
who denies the charges under oath is often acquitted, unless four
witnesses are produced to confirm his involvement in the act. This has
meant that the number of death sentences imposed on women for zina is
disproportionately higher than for men.

Amnesty International neither supports nor opposes any religion or belief.
However, the organization strongly opposes any legal system, whether based
on religious beliefs or not, that violates international human rights law
and standards.

The recent increased national and international interest in the death
penalty in Nigeria resulted in President Obasanjo initiating a
parliamentary debate on the death penalty. As part of this debate, the
National Study Group on the Death Penalty was inaugurated on 13 November
2003. It is expected to make recommendations to the Federal Government at
the end of its mandate in June 2004.

For the full report in English, please go to:
http://www.web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr440012004