Nigeria on Wednesday expressed “deep disappointment” at the execution by firing squad of its citizens for drugs offences in Indonesia and offered its condolences to the men’s families.
The government said it was deeply disappointed over the execution of Messrs Martin Anderson, Okwudili Oyatanze, Jaminu Anashin and Sylvester Obiekwe by the government of Indonesia for drug related offences.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has received with deep disappointment news of the execution of four Nigerians, Messrs Martin Anderson, Okwudili Oyatanze, Jamiu Abashin and Sylvester Obiekwe by the government of Indonesia for drug-related offences,” the statement read.
The four men were executed early Wednesday along with two convicts from Australia, one from Brazil and an Indonesian, despite repeated appeals for mercy from foreign governments and the men’s families.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry made the formal request in a statement released in Abuja last night, expressing regret over the execution of the four Nigerians despite numerous pleas by President Goodluck Jonathan and other world leaders at several fora.
While warning Nigerians across the globe to steer clear of drug trafficking, the government expressed it condolences to the families of the four Nigerians killed by Jakarta.The Foreign Affairs Ministry made the formal request in a statement released in Abuja last night, expressing regret over the execution of the four Nigerians despite numerous pleas by President Goodluck Jonathan and other world leaders at several fora.
“The Federal Government seizes this opportunity to once again, warn all Nigerians to desist from drug trafficking and other offences that attract maximum punishment in several countries of the world.
“The Federal Government will continue to promote the welfare and protect the lives of Nigerians abroad, no matter their circumstances.
“Furthermore, Government is committed to engage the Government of Indonesia and other friendly countries regarding the conclusion of Prisoner Transfer Agreements and other bilateral means of safeguarding the interest and welfare of Nigerians, the government said
Abuja said President Goodluck Jonathan and Foreign Minister Aminu Wali had made “spirited appeals for clemency”, most recently at an Asian-African summit in the Indonesian capital Jakarta last week.
In the face of a storm of international criticism, Indonesia has defended its actions, saying they were a key part of its “war on drugs”.
There had been confusion about the nationalities of the four Africans, with Nigeria‘s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) saying last week that Anderson was Ghanaian.
Abashin meanwhile was also known as Raheem Agbaje Salami, according to the NDLEA, and was travelling on a Spanish passport when he was arrested with heroin in his suitcase at the airport in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, in September 1998.
Obiekwe, 49, also used the name Nwolise.
The Nigerian government expressed its condolences to the men’s families but also warned its nationals “to desist from drug trafficking and other offences that attract maximum punishment in several countries of the world”.
The death penalty is legal in Nigeria and the men’s cases have not attracted the same level of interest and outrage as in other countries where the punishment is outlawed.
Vanguard
