Capitalization of offences in Nigeria: an appraisal of the international law restrictions

Abstract

There have been global moves towards the abolition of capital punishment. The United Nations, in its systemic strategy, towards attaining an outright abolition across the jurisdictions, has placed a myriad of restrictions on the retentionist countries in the capitalization, imposition of capital punishment and the execution of death sentences on condemned prisoners. The restrictions are contained in the ICCPR and other regional instruments like the ACHR and ACHPR. The restrictions include non-expansion of scope of capital punishment with drastic reduction in scope. It also includes non-use of retroactive legislations for capital punishment. The instruments also seek to restrain the retentionist states from imposing death penalty on certain vulnerable groups. The appraisal of the various restrictions placed on the member states in the capitalization process constitutes the thrust of this paper. The writer concludes and proffers robust recommendations on the way forward.

Keywords: Capitalization, Retentionist Countries, Capital Punishment, Condemned Prisoners, Vulnerable, Retroactive Law