Nigeria has not executed a prisoner since December 23, 2016, marking a ten‑year hiatus, while the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) reports that 4,329 inmates are still awaiting execution, among them more than 82 women. International diplomatic missions and local rights groups are calling for an official moratorium and the commutation of existing death sentences.
**What is the current death‑row situation?**
The NCoS disclosed that over four thousand individuals are confined in various prisons across the federation under capital punishment orders. Women account for a small but notable fraction of this population, exceeding eighty inmates.
**What legal framework governs capital punishment in Nigeria?**
The 1999 Constitution, as amended, contains a duality: Section 33(1) guarantees the right to life but carves out an exception for court‑ordered executions, while Section 34(1)(a) protects human dignity and bans inhuman or degrading treatment. The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty in cases such as *Onuoha Kalu v The State* (1998) and *Joseph Amoshima v The State* (2011).
**What did the NCoS say at the World Day Against the Death Penalty?**
Speaking at an event marking the 2026 World Day Against the Death Penalty, the NCoS highlighted the need for a national policy shift that would ultimately require amending the Constitution. Comptroller‑General Sylvester Nwakuche remarked, “Everybody in our custody has a story, and the way we treat those stories says a lot about our society.”
**Who organised the commemorative event?**
The ceremony was jointly hosted by the [National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Human_Rights_Commission_(Nigeria)) and Avocats Sans Frontières France, with logistical support from the Australian High Commission, the German Embassy, and the Spanish Embassy in Nigeria.
**What outcomes emerged from the gathering?**
Participants unanimously called for an immediate moratorium on executions and for all existing death sentences to be commuted to life imprisonment. The NHRC’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, argued that the ten‑year pause satisfies the international standard for a de‑facto moratorium, yet mandatory death sentencing continues to trap over three thousand people in prolonged uncertainty.
**What statutory tools exist for commuting death sentences?**
Section 12(2)(c) of the [Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Correctional_Service) empowers authorities to commute sentences for inmates who have exhausted appeals and remain unexecuted after a prescribed period. Additionally, Section 212 of the Constitution grants State Governors the prerogative of mercy, while Section 175 extends the same power to the President.
**What steps does the NHRC propose?**
Under the NHRC (Amendment) Act 2010, the commission urges: (1) conversion of the ten‑year pause into an official executive moratorium; (2) systematic use of the constitutional mercy provisions and the NCoS Act to commute death sentences to life terms; and (3) revision of mandatory death‑penalty statutes to allow judges to consider mitigating factors and systemic shortcomings.
**How does Nigeria compare regionally?**
Before 1990, only Cape Verde had abolished the death penalty in Africa. Today, 28 of the 55 African Union members have eliminated it in law, with Zimbabwe being the most recent addition. While twenty countries maintain long‑term moratoria, seven—including Nigeria—still retain and occasionally apply capital punishment.
**What are foreign diplomats saying?**
German Ambassador Stefan Rössel praised the decade‑long pause as a milestone, noting Germany’s own abolition of the death penalty in 1981 and emphasizing that “the right to life is universal.” Australian High Commissioner Leilani Bin‑Juda described the achievement as a “significant milestone” that should prompt further reflection and abolition. Spanish Ambassador Félix Costales Artieda condemned the death penalty outright, citing the United States’ record of 130 exonerated death‑row inmates since 1973 and urging Nigeria to commute existing sentences.
**What civil‑society voices add to the debate?**
Angela Uwandu Uzoma‑Iwuchukwu, Country Head of ASF France, highlighted the organization’s Right‑To‑Life project, which has represented over a thousand individuals. She cited the case of Arthur Angel, who spent sixteen years in prison—ten on death row—before release, and the recent pardon of farmer Sunday Jackson in Adamawa State, underscoring the systemic flaws that jeopardise fair trials.
**What lies ahead for Nigeria?**
Nigeria currently sits at a crossroads: the death penalty remains codified, thousands await execution, yet no state‑sanctioned killing has occurred in a decade. Observers hope that this period will catalyse legislative reform and ultimately lead to the abolition of capital punishment in the country.