Singaporean Govt Executes Nigerian Death Row Convict, Chijioke Stephen Obioha
Chijioke Stephen Obioha[/caption]
Chijioke Stephen Obioha, a Nigerian man who was on death row in Singapore for possession of drugs, has been executed following the country’s rejection of the convict’s final appeal.
Obioha, who was arrested in Singapore with about 2.6 kilograms of cannabis on April 9, 2007, was sentenced to death in November 2008 after he was found guilty of drug trafficking.
It would be recalled that the Amnesty International (AI) had called on the Singaporean Government to halt Obioha’s execution.
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The Amnesty International was quoted saying, “The Singapore government still has time to halt the execution of Chijoke 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,” the Human Rights organisation had said.
But the Singaporean Government turned down the call after which it went ahead to execute Mr. Obioha on Friday November 18, 2016.
Meanwhile the Nigerian Government has reacted to the execution, describing the act as heartbreaking.
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Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said: “While we regret the death sentence passed on the Nigerian, we once again appeal to Nigerians to avoid crimes like drug trafficking with most countries especially in Asia declaring zero tolerance for drug trafficking.”
