Nigeria TV Info — German, Australian Embassies, and Avocats Sans Frontières France Call for Abolition of Death Penalty in Nigeria

Abuja, Nigeria — October 12, 2025: The German and Australian Embassies in Nigeria, in collaboration with Avocats Sans Frontières France (ASF France), have renewed calls for the complete abolition of the death penalty in Nigeria.

The appeal was made during the weekend at a special film screening of “Just Mercy” in Abuja, organized to commemorate the 2025 World Day Against the Death Penalty. The event was jointly hosted by ASF France, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Australian High Commission in Nigeria.

While commending Nigeria for not carrying out any executions in the past nine years, the organisers urged both the federal and state governments to take decisive steps to remove capital punishment from national and state laws.

The event formed part of ongoing collaborative efforts to protect human rights and promote a fair justice system. It brought together key stakeholders, including members of the legal community, civil society organisations, government officials, diplomats, students, private sector actors, and the media.

Speaking at the event, representatives from the organising bodies emphasised the need to deepen public understanding of the human rights implications of the death penalty and to encourage dialogue toward its complete abolition in Nigeria and across Africa.

Recent statistics indicate that 26 African countries have abolished the death penalty, 14 still retain it, and 15 are classified as de facto abolitionists — a trend that reflects Africa’s gradual alignment with the global movement against capital punishment.

The 2025 report of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) revealed that over 3,500 inmates remain on death row in Nigeria, making it one of the largest death row populations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Stakeholders at the event stressed that these figures underscore the urgency of sustained advocacy and legal reform to eliminate the death penalty. They, however, commended President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to commute the death sentences of seven inmates to life imprisonment, describing it as a positive step toward a more humane justice system.