Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Nigeria.
Methods of executions include hanging, shooting and stoning is carried out on crimes ranging from murder, terrorism-related offenses, rape, robbery, kidnapping, same-sex marriage, treason, and mutiny. Since 2006, Nigeria had not carried out an execution until in 2013 when four prisoners who were in death row were executed. In a 2014 research made by Amnesty International, about 697 people were sentenced to death by firing squad or by hanging. On 17 December 2014, about 54 Nigerian soldiers were sentenced to death by firing squad after they were found guilty of mutiny.
Criticism
The use of death penalty in Nigeria has generated mixed opinions among people in the society. Some people find this form of punishment as a tool which violates the human rights to live which is considered as a fundamental human right. Public activists also see this type of punishment as a tool meant to discrimate the masses.
In recent years, there have been protests and calls from reputable organizations including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the abolition of capital punishment in the country. In October 2014, former Governor of Delta State Emmanuel Uduaghan pardoned three inmates who were on death row following the recommendations by the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy.