Justice Ishaq Bello, a former Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, has argued that Nigerian governors’ refusal to always sign death warrants is encouraging the perpetration of crimes in the country.
Bello made the comments while speaking at the Nigeria Human Rights Conference that was held in Enugu on Friday.
“If you are a judge, a case comes before you; you hear it and fairly decide. If your decision is in civil matter, you will do the needful as the law requires of you,” said Bello.
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“If it is criminal, you’ve made conviction, and if there’s any role for any governor, let him perform it.”
The former judge then went on to talk about Nigerian governors’ frequent hesitance to sign death warrants.
“By refusing to fulfil their constitutional obligations as required by the law, they indirectly encourage the criminals in their atrocities,” Bello said at the conference.
The former chief judge also said that signing death warrants was part of the criminal justice system and would help decongest prison facilities.
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He added that governors’ reluctance was a function of a lack of understanding of their roles, and that should not be seen as a flaw in the law.
The criminals on death row that Bello spoke about were the ones who had exhausted all legal remedies.
In March, the number of Nigeria’s death row inmates stood at 3,688.
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