The Senior Special Assistant to the President on
Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa has described the
execution of a Nigerian in Singapore on Friday for drug related offences as
heartbreaking.
In a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun in Abuja said that the planned execution was heartbreaking despite repeated warnings to Nigerians to obey the laws of the land of their host countries.
In a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun in Abuja said that the planned execution was heartbreaking despite repeated warnings to Nigerians to obey the laws of the land of their host countries.
Dabiri-Erewa said since Singapore determined to enforce its laws as a
deterrent to drug trafficking, which has reduced as a result of its stringent
capital punishment , nothing much can be done
"While we regret the death of the Nigerian, we once again appeal to
Nigerians to avoid crimes like drug trafficking with most countries especially
in Asia declaring zero tolerance for drug trafficking.", Dabiri-Erewa
stated.
She reiterated her appeal to Nigerians to avoid drug peddling in their
host countries as laws of countries, whether acceptable or not, will be difficult
to influence.
A Nigerian, Chijoke Obioha was caught in Singapore trafficking in
hard drugs on December 30, 2008 with his execution slated for Friday November
18.
Obioha was arrested with more than 2.6 kilograms of cannabis, surpassing
the statutory amount of 500 grams presumed as drug trafficking in Singapore on
April 9, 2007
The Amnesty International had called on Singapore to immediately halt
Friday’s planned execution of Chijoke Stephen Obioha, a Nigerian national on
death row for possession of drugs.
Obioha’s family was informed that his appeal for clemency has been
rejected.
Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s Director for South-East
Asia and the Pacific, said: “The Singapore government still has time to halt
the execution of Chijoke Stephen Obioha. We are dismayed that clemency has not
been granted in his case, but remain hopeful that they won’t carry out this
cruel and irreversible punishment against a person sentenced to the mandatory
death penalty for a crime that should not even be punished by death. “
"The death penalty is never the solution. It will not rid Singapore
of drugs. By executing people for drug-related offences, which do not meet the
threshold of most serious crimes, Singapore is violating international law.
A Nigerian, Chijoke Obioha was caught in Singapore trafficking in
hard drugs on December 30, 2008 with his execution slated for Friday November
18.
Obioha was arrested with more than 2.6 kilograms of cannabis, surpassing
the statutory amount of 500 grams presumed as drug trafficking in Singapore on
April 9, 2007.
Under Singaporean law, when there is a presumption of drug
possession and trafficking, the burden of proof shifts from the prosecutor to
the defendant.
This violates the right to a fair trial by turning the presumption
of innocence on its head. Drug-related offences do not meet the threshold of
the “most serious crimes” to which the use of the death penalty must be
restricted under international law.
International law also prohibits the imposition of the death penalty as
a mandatory punishment and Amnesty International opposes the use of the death
penalty outright, regardless of the crime. ####
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