AMEH EJEKWONYILO writes on the agony of a 54-year-old man who spent 16 years on death row, and how Lawyers Without Borders, an NGO, rescued him from the executioner’s claws
It was a tale of agony last Tuesday as Mr. Calistus Ikeh; a 54-year-old man narrated his ordeal in the hands of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Prisons, where he spent 23 years in detention on a trumped-up charge of stealing and burglary which was later fabricated as armed robbery by the police authorities.
Tears were welling up in his eyes as he struggled frantically to control his emotion. Mr. Ikeh, an indigene of Oru Local Government Area of Imo state; narrated the tale of his refusal to part with the sum of two hundred naira (N200) put him on death row for 16 years before he was rescued from the claws of death by a non-profit organization, Avocats Sans Frontieres France also known as Lawyers Without Borders through their humanitarian programme, “Save Lives. (SALI)”
He said: “This unfortunate incident happened to me in 1989. I was resident in Benin, Edo state. A man that was leaving under the same roof with me, and his wife developed stomach problem. As a result, he asked me to accompany him to place in order to get some herbs as a treatment for his ailing wife. After collecting the herbs, a day after the same man called the police to look for me.”
“I went about my business but when I got the information I went to the police to inquire why they were looking for me. They said: ‘I conspired with the herbsman and stole the sick woman’s husband’s property.’ Then I told them that I had never done anything like that in my entire life.”
Police brutality
Mr. Ikeh narrated how the police tortured him to extract information from him: The Investigative Police Officer (IPO) brought out a horsewhip and began to torture me in order to make confessional statements. After making a statement, the same policeman said he did not find anything incriminating against me.”
“However, sadly, he turned around and demanded for the sum of N200, which was in 1989, that he was going to let me go if I paid the money. But I refused to comply with his demand because I had done nothing wrong.”
Trial and conviction
According to Mr. Ikeh, “Two days later, the matter was charged to court. I was arraigned before a magistrate’s court while they let the hook off my co-accused because he paid the said sum. I was later taken to a tribunal; where I was re-arraigned from stealing and burglary to armed robbery. The charges were changed overnight.”
“Before the tribunal, the case commenced. It lasted for about seven months and I was convicted and condemned to death for a crime I never committed. ‘I had never conspired with anybody to commit any crime.”
Life on death row and ASF rescue mission
I was on death row for more than 16 years. While I was in jail in Edo state, I was transferred to Enugu state. As I was in jail with other inmates, I got a hint about some lawyers from France who were helping inmates. Then I related the information to one of my brothers who met with the organization, and within the space of three months, I was freed from the ‘hands of the wicked of this world.’ And I thank God for it.
“Injustice in the judiciary”
“One thing I would like to let the world know today is that there is great injustice in our judiciary. Because of this, a lot of people have died. And some of our lawyers are not competent enough in the handling of such cases; the consequence has often resulted in the conviction and death of innocent people.”
“I witnessed more five to six executions that took the lives of more than 38 young able-bodied men and women. It is a painful thing when you experience it.”
His release
I was released in 2012. I spent over 16 years on death row.
There was no one to testify for me, because the man who was supposed to do that had been released because he parted with his N200 to secure his freedom. Nobody testified for me.
The IPO and the plaintiff testified against me, and that led to my conviction and subsequent incarceration.
Prison condition and government’s “empty reforms”
The prison condition is most horrible. Some of the prison wardens are so wicked, while others are still good. The food is extremely poor. Government is often quick to say, ‘we are reforming the prisons system’; whereas they are doing nothing.
It is mere statement; I experienced it for 16 as an inmate on death row.
I awaited trial for seven years before I was convicted and put on death row for 16 years. I have got the experience more than some warders in the prison that torment inmates.
I did not appeal the judgment because I was tried and convicted by a military tribunal. It was during the military regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
ASF appeals for a review of death penalty in Nigeria
It was against this backdrop that Lawyers without Borders and the European Union recently called for a review of Nigeria’s criminal justice system as it regards death penalty.
ASF in partnership with the EU, Agence Francaise de De’velopment and the Netherlands Embassy, have argued that the criminal justice system in the country was “defective” and cannot guarantee fair trial of accused persons.
According to Mr. Alan Munday of the Political Governace and Democracy section, Delegation of the EU, “The EU holds a strong and principle position against the death penalty and its abolition is a key objective for the EU’s human rights policy.”
Ms. Angela Uwandu, Head of Office, Avocats Sans Frontieres France (Lawyers Without Borders France), highlighted some of her organisation’s achievement to include the release of 35 inmates who were on death row; including the case of Maimuna Abdulmumini who was accused of murder and sentenced to death when she was 13 years old.
She averred that ASF does not condone crime but is against the criminal justice system in the country which is riddled with what she termed “legal loopholes” which make the call for the abolishment of the death penalty justifiable; as could be seen in the foregoing cases.
