Nigeria stands to lose no fewer than 132 citizens who are on
death row in various prisons across Indonesia, China and
Singapore.
While the Taiwan Embassy in Abuja denied knowledge of any
Nigerian on death role in its country, the story is totally
different in Indonesia who, last week, put four Nigerians to
death by firing squad.
Sunday Sun investigation at the Indonesian Embassy, Abuja,
revealed that 11 Nigerians are currently on death row, having
been sentenced to death at various times by Indonesian
courts.
They were sentenced to death on drug-related offences, which
largely centered on being in possession of heroin and other
narcotics.
The judge who rejects clemency in Indonesia recently
Obinna Nwajagu, Michael Titus Igwe, Hillary .K. Chimezie,
Stephen Rasheed Akinyemi, Humphrey Ijike alias Doctor, Gap
Nadi alias Papa, are some Nigerians whom the Indonesian
government may execute any time from now.
Others awaiting death in Indonesia include, Eugene Ape alias
Felixe, Ekfere Dike Ale Kamal alias Samuel, Seck Osmane/
Cajetan Uchenna Onyenworo, Samuel Iwuchukwu Okoye and
Hansen Anthony Nwaolisa.
Some human rights groups had sometime in April 2013,
petitioned the National Assembly over the fate of 14 Nigerians
awaiting death in Indonesia.
The groups, World Alliance for Against Terrorism, Violence
and Inhuman Treatment and Committee for the Defence of
Human Rights (CDHR), also urged the federal government to
wade into the matter.
But in spite of pleas for clemency by the Nigerian
government, Indonesia known for its hard stance on drug
offences, has never shied away from carrying out capital
punishment on drug-related offences in its country.
For instance, prior to the execution of Messrs Martin
Anderson, Okwudili Oyatanze, Jaminu Abashin and Sylvester
Obiekwe by the Government of Indonesia for drug-related
offences last week on the island of Nusakambangan, the
Indonesian government had executed two Nigerians, Daniel
Enemuo and Solomon Chibuike Oka-for on January 18 this
year.
A helpless Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia, Muhammad
Suleiman, had in his recent correspondence to the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, following the
execution of the four Nigerians, bemoaned the resurgence of
drug crime in Indonesia.
He had in his report, told Wali that while pleas by President
Goodluck Jonathan and Wali were being pursued, seven fresh
cases had emerged, which made it impossible for something
concrete to be done in the case of Nigerians involved in drug
related-offences in Indonesia.
However, the case of China seems to be more alarming
considering that execution of drug offenders by the Chinese
government is done in a well-packaged manner which most
times, does not draw the attention of the general public.
For instance, a check at the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Abuja, revealed that on December 19, 2014, one
Obiora Ifekpolugwo was executed in China and this did not
draw both local and international attention.
Similarly, Sunday Sun source at the Nigerian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs revealed that two Nigerians were also
executed in China on April 24.
But in spite of this development, a total number of 120
Nigerians are still on death row in China for drug sales/drug
smuggling offences.
When contacted on the number of Nigerians on death row in
China, the Chinese Deputy Ambassador, Mr Zhang Bin, said
the embassy does not have such figures, directing Sunday
Sun to the Consular Department of the Nigerian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
Checks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that in
Beijing Yancheng, three Nigerians are on death row (2012
statistics), while a correspondence by the Consulate-General
of Nigeria in Guangzhou, China, dated January 7, 2015,
showed that 74 Nigerians are currently on death row in
Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.
Others include: Quingpu, Shanghai (1); Dongguan prison (3),
with self-acclaimed Nigerians (9); Huizhou prison (7), with
self-acclaimed Nigerians (3); and Yinde (19), with one self-
acclaimed Nigerian (2012 statistics).
In Singapore, only one Nigerian is reported to be on death
row, according to the Nigerian Ambassador to Singapore,
Nonye Rajis-Okpara.
Speaking from Singapore, Rajis-Okpara said the Nigerian
Embassy in Singapore applied about a year ago to the
Singaporean president that the death sentence be commuted
to life imprisonment and that the government was still looking
into it.
“Because of this, I am not at liberty to release the name,”
R ajis-Okpara told the Sunday Sun correspondent, even as she
said five Nigerians were still in Singapore prisons for drug -
offences.
Rajis-Okpara also added that due to the Singaporean laws,
drug-related offences had gone down, while also noting that
the Singaporean borders were not like others.
At the Taiwan Embassy in Abuja, an official of the embassy
who pleaded anonymity told Sunday Sun that he was not sure
if any Nigerian was on death row in country
He, however, added, “many years ago, there was one Nigerian
who was caught doing drugs from Taiwan to China and
sentenced to life imprisonment. But it was cut short due to
his good behaviour in prison. That means that there is no one
at the moment.”
Several efforts to get the numbers of Nigerians on death row
in Malaysia were unsuccessful as an official of the embassy
told Sunday Sun that the ambassador who is responsible for
providing such information was unavailable.
[Reported By Sunday Sun]