Three Nigerians were amongst the latest people executed for drug-related offences in Indonesia. The south east Asian country is one of the few in the world with drug trafficking convictions punishable by death. Since the advent of President Joko Widodo’s administration in October 2014, the latest execution brings the number of Nigerians executed for drug offences to 8 out of 19 killed; the country with the most nationals. This questions how much the Nigerian government does in examining legal cases of its citizens in the diaspora.
During the wee hours of Friday, the Indonesian Deputy Attorney-General, Noor Rachmad, said the country had executed four drug convicts, including three foreigners by firing squad. The convicts include; Freddy Budiman (Indonesian), Seck Osmane (Nigerian), Humphrey Jefferson Ejike (Nigerian) and Michael Titus Igweh (Nigerian). The firing squad went ahead, in spite of protests by several human rights groups calling for a halt to the process. According to the Indonesian government, 14 drug convicts were scheduled to be killed today, but 10 of them had a last-minute stay of execution. The ten others include four Nigerians as well.
The other Nigerians may soon be killed, if the Nigerian government and its people refuse act strongly. Nigeria is one of the countries that rarely ever utilises the capital punishment, and as such, its government needs to speak up for its citizens billed to be served the same. There are even concerns about the fairness of the trials given to these convicts. Some days before the latest execution in Indonesia, Amnesty International wrote that “the organisation found that in 12 cases, defendants were denied access to legal counsel at the time of their arrest, and at different periods thereafter. Some claimed they were subject to torture and other ill-treatment while in police custody, and were forced to ‘confess’ to their alleged crimes. To date, these claims have not been investigated by the authorities.”
Just after today’s execution, the legal team of one of the Nigerians killed, Humphrey Jefferson Ejike, reportedly said he was unjustly killed. Where is the Nigerian government in this case?
“At this stage, we can only say that we are extremely disappointed with the fact that Jeff was executed.
“The government does not respect the ongoing legal process on Jeff’s case.
“There is strong evidence of torture and he was not given a fair trial. Racism towards our client can be seen in the court decision,” Raynov Tumorang told CNN.
Despite Indonesia’s stiff stance on drug deals, the executions of other foreign convicts have been delayed before. In April last year, a Filipina, Mary Veloso was billed to be executed alongside 9 others, but the intervention of the Philippine President, Benigno Aquino, halted that execution. Also, at that time, the only European among the drug convicts, French Serge Atlaoui was not executed due to a strong legal engagement.
Beyond Indonesia, Nigerians are unjustly killed in other parts of the world, with little or no reaction from the government. Even as the Nigerian government warns its citizens, to desist from activities that can put them on the wrong side of the law and soil the country’s name, there is more to be done diplomatically – to avoid the constant killing of its people in foreign lands. All Nigerian embassies need to be alert and act accordingly, defending their citizens abroad.
