By Patrick Ahanor
Benin City
No fewer than 100 inmates have so far benefited from Avocats Sans Frontieres (ASL) France push for the protection of human rights and abolition of capital punishment for offenders.
Legal manager of the group, Barrister Kolawole Ogunbiyi, disclosed this at a practical workshop for judicial actors and other stakeholders in criminal justice system in Benin City, Edo state.
He said the workshop was aimed at seeking alternative ways of punishing offenders, adding, “death penalty has not served its purpose because it’s yet to deter others.
Ogunbiyi explained that ASL assists local lawyers in the defence of critical cases of fundamental human rights in order to sustain the development of the rule of law.
He said: “We have two categories of persons under this scheme; those who have been sentenced to death, but were unable to appeal because they cannot afford the services of a lawyer or someone who has been awaiting trial for capital offence.
“And ASL has recorded success in the push against capital punishment.
We have over 150 cases in courts across the country. So far, we have secure justice for over 100 of them.”
While recalling that no offence warranted capital punishment in the United Kingdom, Ogunbiyi expressed optimism that “Nigeria and other developing countries would soon follow suit.”
