Nigerian national set to be executed in Singapore

By Kirsten Han

SINGAPORE (AA) – A Nigerian national is set to be executed early Friday morning in Singapore after an eleventh-hour constitutional challenge and calls from international and local groups to halt the execution and establish a moratorium on the death penalty.

Lawyer Joseph Chen represented Chijioke Stephen Obioha in filing a last-ditch constitutional challenge heard in Singapore's apex court the evening before the scheduled execution. The appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

Obioha was arrested in 2007 and subsequently charged with trafficking 2,604.56 grams of cannabis, which surpasses the threshold of 500 grams that attracts the mandatory death penalty. He was sentenced to death in 2008.

Amendments were made to the mandatory death penalty that came into force in 2013. Under these changes, individuals who are found to be mere couriers and who have substantively cooperated with the authorities will be given the chance to escape the gallows and be re-sentenced to life imprisonment, with caning.

Obioha, who continues to insist upon his innocence, initially refused to apply for re-sentencing as he believed this would be an implicit admission of guilt.

His execution was set for May 2015, but he changed his mind on the eve of the scheduled date and was granted a stay of execution so that he could apply for re-sentencing.

He later withdrew his application after being advised he was unlikely to be classified as a courier, and would therefore be unlikely to be eligible for re-sentencing. The stay of execution was lifted in October this year.

-Condemnation-

His impending execution has drawn urgent comment from a variety of international and local organizations.

Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific at Amnesty International, Rafendi Djamin, said in a statement: “The Singapore government still has time to halt the execution of Chijioke Stephen Obioha.

“We are dismayed that clemency has not been granted in his case but remain hopeful that they won’t carry out this cruel and irreversible punishment against a person sentenced to the mandatory death penalty for a crime that should not even be punished by death.

Laurent Meillan, acting regional representative of the United Nations Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia said: "The death penalty is not an effective deterrent relative to other forms of punishment nor does it protect people from drug abuse."

This message was also echoed by the EU Delegation in Singapore, as well as the Norwegian and Swiss embassies. International human rights organization FIDH also added its voice to calls to halt the execution, as did local abolitionist groups the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign and We Believe in Second Chances.

Singapore has long defended its use of capital punishment, particularly for drug offences.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan affirmed that "all human life is sacred", but emphasized that "the rights of the offenders must always be weighed against the rights of their victims and their families, and the broader rights of the community and society to live in peace and security".

"Murder and drug trafficking cause enormous harm to society. Capital punishment is carried out only after due judicial process and in accordance with the law," he added.

A second individual, a Malaysian who was also convicted for drug trafficking, is believed to be scheduled for execution alongside Obioha.