Edo To Set Up Spl Court, Sign, Execute Cultist, Kidnapper’s Deaths Speedily https://osazuwaakonedo.news/edo-to-set-up-spl-court-sign-execute-cultist-kidnappers-deaths-speedily/ #Amnesty #ANEEJ #Benin #Edo #Oshiomhole #Kano #Obaseki #Okpebholo #Police Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo has said the state government will set up special court for criminal proceedings inline with the existing laws for suspected secret cult members and kidnappers to be conducted within 2 or 3 weeks maximum, and if anyone is found guilty and sentenced to death accordingly, he will sign the death warrant and bring the condemned criminal or criminals to popular Ring Road area in Benin City for public execution so that such action will serve as deterrent to others, the Governor who probably have a good working relationship with one of the former governors of the state that started the recent execution of condemned criminals, Adams Oshiomhole made this known on Thursday when he visited the Headquarters of the Edo State Command of the Nigeria Police Force wherein some suspected kidnappers allegedly behind the shooting and abduction of a woman at a popular Vegetable market along Airport road in Benin City last Sunday were paraded before the governor and the Press, according to the Governor; "I will set up a special court to try cultists and kidnappers within 2 or 3 weeks and if found guilty, I would have no regret to sign their warrants, they would be executed at the Ring Road for others to learn a lesson, don’t take my simplicity for granted”, for the record, the last time death warrant was signed and condemned criminals executed in Edo State, took place around 6:00am on December 23, 2016, few weeks after the then-Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki took over power and was then still in good working relationship with ex governor Adams Oshiomhole, three death row inmates were executed by hanging, namely: Ogbomoro Omoregie, Apostle Igene, and Mark Omosowhota and the execution took place at the Oko Prison of the Nigerian Correctional Service, the inmates had originally been sentenced to death by military tribunals under the Robbery and Firearms Decree during the era of military rule in Nigeria, Godwin Obaseki carried out the executions despite condemnation from Human rights groups, such as the Legal Defence and Assistance Project, LEDAP, who thus petitioned the governor for a stay of execution, saying, "These earmarked prisoners were sentenced by military tribunals under the Robbery and Firearms, Special Provisions, Decree 1971 as amended, in which there was no right of appeal, we have filed an appeal pending at the Court of Lagos seeking order that these prisoners have right of appeal under the 1999 Constitution, Death penalty is not universally prohibited but the second optional protocol to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on Prohibition of the use of the death penalty ask state parties to amend their laws to abolish death as sentence for crime, not all states have ratified the protocol, to sign a treaty does not bind the state until it is ratified, Nigeria has not signed it”, it would be recalled that before the 2016 last execution of condemned criminals in the state, the immediate past and first execution in Edo State since Nigeria returned to Democratic rule in 1999 occurred on June 24, 2013, when former Governor Adams Oshiomhole signed the warrants to hang four inmates—Chima Ejiofor, Daniel Nsofor, Osarenmwinda Aiguokhan, and Richard Igagu—at the Benin City Custodial Centre along Sapele road, the execution was the first in Nigeria since the last incident in 2006 after the then Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau approved and carried out the execution of seven condemned criminals, Oshiomhole's action faced a lot of backlash from human rights community; Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ reiterated that the death penalty is an inhumane form of punishment and continued to advocate that Nigeria's laws should be amended to replace capital punishment with life imprisonment, even for high-level offences like corruption, while Amnesty International declared the executions "a truly dark day for human rights in Nigeria" and criticised Oshiomhole for ignoring the pending judicial appeal processes, this, other human rights organizations filed appeals and public campaigns, urging the Edo State government to halt the execution of the inmates because their legal options were not fully exhausted, but all to no avail as the condemened criminals were still executed, defending his action, the then-governor Oshiomhole said "I have no apologies because I did not sentence them to death, I am not the one who accused them; they were accused by those they harassed, they have been tried, they have taken advantage #OsazuwaAkonedo Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/osazuwaakonedo--4980924/support. 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