LAGOS, Nigeria — Dozens of death row prisoners in Nigeria have not been able to appeal their sentences, others have waited up to 24 years to have their appeals heard, and some are just teenagers, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

At least 80 of the 736 inmates currently languishing on death row in Africa's biggest oil producer were sentenced by tribunals, without the right to appeal their sentences, the London-based rights group said. Others have faced decades-long delays for appeals, due to a lack of legal representation or missing case files, it said.

In addition, there are at least 40 juvenile offenders on Nigeria's death row. Their ages at the time of their alleged crimes ranged from 13 to 17 years old.

The rights group called upon the Nigerian government to declare a moratorium on executions, saying the West African nation's criminal justice system is "riddled with corruption, negligence and a nearly criminal lack of resources."

Government officials had no immediate comment on the Amnesty report.

The report also claimed that thorough, impartial police investigations into capital crimes were rare and said over half of the death row inmates were convicted on the basis of written confessions that many said were extracted under torture.

"It is truly horrifying to think of how many innocent people may have been executed and may still be executed," said Aster van Kregten, Amnesty International's Nigeria researcher.

Nigeria made an attempt to address the flaws by establishing two commissions of inquiry, which both recommended a moratorium on death sentences because the existing justice system could not guarantee a fair trial, but no action has been taken yet.

The report says Nigeria's soaring violent crime rate puts pressure on police to make fast arrests and few politicians want to publicly oppose death sentences.

"The death penalty is used as a distraction from the real issue: Addressing the underlying factors that lead to violent crime," the report said.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation, with 140 million people. In spite of massive oil earnings, poverty is widespread and criminality and corruption are major problems.

[url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,442045,00.html[/url]

It seems Nigeria is getting more bleeped up by the minute. Hisssss.

IBB raps Obasanjo over foreign reserves
By Beifoh Osewele
Tuesday, October 21, 2008


•Obasanjo
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida has faulted the decision of the immediate president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to amass the nation's wealth in foreign reserve.

The retired General who was guest on an AIT talk show, Focus Nigeria believes that the whopping sum of 65 billion US Dollars presently lying idle in the foreign vault should have been channeled towards development of infrastructure in the country.

Reacting to a question on the nation's huge foreign reserve against the backdrop of the current global economic meltdown, the Minna-born former military leader fondly called IBB says leaving such money out there when the nation was growing under the weight of decay in infrastructure did not make sound economic decision to him.

'We should have invested more on infrastructure,' he begins. 'If I had that kind of money, I would have spent it more properly.'

He, however, excused Obasanjo's decision to keep the money in foreign reserve rather. 'It depends on the philosophy of government. 'If I had that kind of money, I'd have spent it; without having to put it somewhere and looking at the books.'

On the safety of the nation's money, IBB says Nigerians have no reason to worry having been assured by the Professor Charles Soludo, governor of the apex bank, the CBN.
'I am happy the CBN has assured the ordinary people that the money is safe. I don't have to doubt him. I believe he's telling us the correct thing. If he says there's no threat, I'd be silly to doubt him.'

The gap-toothed general denies that he frittered away the huge revenue totaling 12.5billion USDollars that accrued to the nation in the wake of the US-Iraqi war. He says contrary to accusation his administration did not squander any Gulf War windfall, arguing that because he envisaged that something like the accusation was going to come up, and he had prepared himself to answer the query whenever it came up. He insisted that there was no squandering noting that 'we documented everything.'

Asked to assess the performance of Umar Yar'Adua, Babangida says ruling a country with 140 million people with diverse interests, religion and so on is not an easy task. 'You need to give anybody who comes into power enough time to study, analyse and implement his plan. That is what he's doing,' he says. Nigerians, he reasons, should give Yar'Adua time, offer constructive and meaningful suggestion to the government and make input into government policies.

Prominent Nigerians and bodies yesterday, accused former Military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida of deliberately avoiding the main issue in the annulment of the June 12,1993 presidential elections and the murder of late Newswatch Magazine Managing Director, Dele Giwa, insisting that he must apologize to the nation.

The leaders are former governor of old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, human rights activist and renowned constitutional lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi(SAN), leader of Oodua Peoples Congress(OPC), Dr. Federick Faseun, chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA), Chief VictorUmeh, Pan Yoruba social political group, Afenifere and Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo

Daily Champion recalls that Gen Babangida speaking on Africa Independent Television(AIT) last Monday called for the immortalization of the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Abiola and described the murder of Dele Giwa as regrettable. Giwa was killed via parcel bomb in October,1986. during Babangida’s tenure. His government also annulled the June 12, 1993 elections. It was the first time he would openly propose the immortalization of Abiola and express remorse on the death of the Newswatch late boss

He also called for an investigation of the 1992 oil windfall revenue allegedly misappropriated by his government. He didn’t own up that he diverted the revenue that accrued from the oil deal as has continued to be alleged by his critics.

Reacting to Babangida’s submissions on AIT, Musa said that his call for Abiola’s immortalisation was an after thought which should be ignored by Nigerians. He queried why it took him several years to come to the public domain to make such proposal.

Apart from that the former governor who is also the chairman of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties(CNPP) said that IBB left the main issue which he said is explaining to Nigerians the reason behind the annulment of the presidential election by his regime and focus on irrelevant matters.

Although he accepted that Abiola deserved to be immortalized he argued that such call coming from IBB was borne out of guilty conscience. Taking similar stand Afenefere and Umeh maintained that the call was fraught with insincerity.

National Publicity of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin said "His comment urging President Yar’Adua to immortalize Abiola is an after thought. He is dancing on Abiola’s grave. He should apologize to Nigerians. Until he does that nobody will take him serious"

Umeh added "by his comment he has accepted responsibility of annulling a free and fair election. The truth is that IBB cannot continue to grand stand on the issue he must apologize to this country"

In his own remark,Keyamo accused IBB of merely trying to relaunch and launder his political image. He said "the whole thing is nothing but a mere attempt to launder his image. For me we should forget everything about him. He is a crafty person he is is repackaging himself because he has one ambition or another"

However in his own reaction Faseun said though he had expected IBB to tender an apology for annulling the election, his suggestion that Abiola should be immortalized was a welcome development.

On the murder of Dele Giwa the speakers also lambasted the former head of state, saying that he should have investigated the killing if truly he was pained by the death. Nigeria Union of Journalist(NUJ) said that IBB’s comment on the late journalist was coming too late In a short statement signed by the association’s National Secretary, Shu’Aibu Usman Leman, it regretted that even when Fawehinmi has consistently called for the probe of the murder.

Speaking from London, Gani Fawehinmi said "it is a mere political propaganda to launder his image and that does not contain any substance. It is totally devoid of any substance.

"Babangida and his government were clearly implicated in the murder of Dele Giwa on October 19 1986 for which I went to court for the police to investigate. The former Lagos State Commissioner of Police Abubakar Tsav (rtd) in his statement before the Oputa Panel also indicted IBB. My last letter to the current Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro in which I detailed the complicity of IBB’s government in the murder of Dele Giwa is yet to be acknowledged by the police. I went to court in 1992 to get justice on the murder of Dele Giwa but I have been inundated of with all sorts of objections by the defendant (IBB).

"It was only this year that the Federal High Court in Lagos ruled that I have no Locus standi on the issue, it is absurd and have since filed an appeal against the judgment.

"IBB has not gotten any clean bill of health on the murder of Dele Giwa which is still haunting him.

"I challenge IBB to publish how he spent the oil wind fall. Let him do that and it would be subjected to public scrutiny. If he thinks I am dying, he is making a mistake. I don’t see death now, even though I am struck by cancer.

With the prayers of Nigerians, God has intervened and I will get well. He should not think that the long cancer is going to kill me. Nobody can plan against God.

Commenting on the oil windfall revenue Faseun, Umeh Musa and Afenifere called on government to get to the root of the matter.

Late Pius Okigbo had headed a committee which investigated the windfall money. It reportedly indicted IBB regime. The report of the committee is however yet to be made publics.

@ogbeta, open your own thread and stop posting new topics under existing ones.