I read this article,

http://nigerialog.com/blog/?p=102

and think it is time we Nigerians take a second look at the death penalty provisions in our statutes. Innocent people must have been executed in Nigeria somehow. We cannot have a modern nation until we address this. In the USA 200 people have been cleared by DNA evidence since 1989. Imagine if they were in Nigeria.
Before taking a position on this, ask yourself whether you trust any human system enough to impose a death penalty on your relation or yourself. We may not have relations in death row, but people in death row are other people's relations.
Personally I can never live with the thought of knowing that an innocent man or woman might be killed as we seek justice.
Let's build more prisons instead and put away such people until a day when we can be absolutely sure of guilt.
Nigeria does not have enough prisons anyway. If we did, all these crimes would have been reduced.
More jails, and no executions please!

Forget what they did or didnt do in USA. Go tell your story to armed robbers in Nigeria.

Time to abolish death penalty? Lol

For what?!?
We are overpopulated as it is accomodating murderous scum is way beyond our tolerability.

@poster
it seems u r planning a deadly armed robbery attack on one of the new generation banks.nd so u r telling us to tell d authorities to abolish death penalty so dat when u kill 20 people while trying 2 force ur way 2 the bank nd then u get caught by our ALMIGHTY police the highest u will get is 20 years imprisonment.Whereas 20 souls r gone.abeg it wont work u get?

Believe me I was a strong believer in death penalty for many many years because I am a decent law abiding citizen. Until I started seeing more and more innocent people cleared, I never even thought about it, at all! It bugged my conscience to see many men nearly killed for crimes they never committed. I don't take neutral positions on serious stuffs. Until you sit down and really really think about it, your emotions will never allow you to see my point. I understand we come from a jungle called Nigeria, but I also know that the most deadly countries in the world are NOT the ones without death penalty. Until you find yourself or a relation framed for murder,  you will continue to struggle to see my point.

@philip0906 , I happen to be a conscientious Nigerian (unlike your armed robber father). I'm only voicing my opinion about what I believe. So please excuse me!

And guess what, the ones who get hanged or face firing squads in Nigeria are poor people without means of good legal representation. The main armed robbers -your leaders- live in opulence with their loot right under your eyes and you cannot do anything about it. If Ivory Coast, and Senegal and even Angola and Mozambique (some of the most deadly African countries which grapple with loose civil war weapons and armed robbery) have abolished death penalty, then Nigeria must take a second look. Soon we will be the only African country practicing it, and we are running out of executioners because they are quitting the ignoble job. People who should have been hanged in 1978 are still there waiting to be killed. Imagine if that is you or your relation. I know that hypothetical stuff can be hard for those without high IQ, but please try a little to understand me!

The only thing that jolted my support for death penalty was the golden rule. Most supporters never imagine themselves at the receiving end. In a jungle like Nigeria, only God knows how many innocent souls have been lost. Apo 6 is a typical example where six innocent citizens were summarily executed in Abuja by the police who claimed they were armed robbers. Now imagine if those were YOUR RELATIVES.
My point remains, let's wait until at least when we can develop better judicial system. But for now, more jails.

@philip0906 , I happen to be a conscientious Nigerian (unlike your armed robber father). I'm only voicing my opinion about what I believe. So please excuse me!

@infotunnel
common b wise.u don't need 2 rage .cos it won't do ur motion no good.read my comments well nd u will get my POINT.its only if u want 2 take it personal rather than get MY points that u comment the way u did.

@philip0906
You decided to attack me rather than address the issue I raised. You basically called me an armed robber, just because I decided to embark on a selfless crusade against barbarism. I'm sorry if I misunderstood you. Everyone is really entitled to his/her opinion on this issue, but I only wanted an issue-based discussion about death penalty. It took me about 15 years to change my views on death penalty and I'm prepared to wait for fellow citizens. All I'm doing is to present the other side of this dark practice.

@infotunnel
sorry if u felt offended.but SINCERLY speaking I wanted to pass across a message.Probably I should re-write it again

imagine a situation where some people r planning a deadly armed robbery attack on one of the new generation banks and then they kill 20 people while trying 2 force their way 2 the bank nd then they get caught by our ALMIGHTY police the highest they will get is 20 years imprisonment.Whereas 20 souls r gone.abeg it wont work u get?

Personally, anyone convicted of murder should never ever see freedom again. They should be put in jail for life. No parole. No pardon. That way, society would have "taken" their life too. They cannot live their dreams in captivity, and life without dreams is no life. We need something that actually keeps society safe as well as give society an opportunity for reviews in cases of errors. If we have an efficient police and judiciary, most robbers will be in jail today. Let us think of something that actually works. Not something based on fear and hype. The information I'm getting from Nigeria is that our robbers are becoming more and more deadly and heartless. They are also increasing in number and sophistication. I grew up in an armed robbery infested town in Nigeria, so I know first hand what it feels like. We have been killing them (robbers) since the 70s, 80s till today, but guess what they are getting worse.
We need to try something different. We need to reform our judicial and law enforcement systems. But for now, for today, we need more jails!

Death sentence should be retained and enforced for anyone convicted of mismanagement of public fund. Until corruption is completely phased out of our polity and institutions, nothing whatsoever will work in Nigeria.

Death penalty is barbaric. It doesn't deter criminals in any way it even harden them. So abolished, it should.

beystwin:

Death penalty is barbaric. It doesn't deter criminals in any way it even harden them. So abolished, it should.

Who cares if they're hardened??. . .as long as they're DEAD!

It shouldn't be abolished but should only be passed when guilt for a crime deserving death is proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Our problem is the corrupt police and corrupt judiciary who are quite happy to send innocent people to undesrved deaths.

As long as we still harbour militants, armed robbers and kidnappers, LONG LIVE THE DEATH PENALTY!