Nigeria
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Code...
- News items in the archive
- 1,104
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Nigeria is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 1,104 news items on Nigeria, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- DECEMBER 9, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
a Sharia court in Bauchi, Nigeria, overturned a death sentence imposed on Daso Adamu
a Sharia court in Bauchi, Nigeria, overturned a death sentence imposed on Daso Adamu
- NOVEMBER 30, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
the following is part of an editorial written by Udo Jude Ilo, coordinator of...
the following is part of an editorial written by Udo Jude Ilo, coordinator of...
- NOVEMBER 17, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that the Nigerian Legal Aid Council...
It was reported that the Nigerian Legal Aid Council was to appeal against the conviction of 30 people by sharia courts for various offences in Bauchi State
- NOVEMBER 15, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
a High Court in Nigeria's southeastern city of Owerri...
a High Court in Nigeria's southeastern city of Owerri...
- NOVEMBER 10, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
an Islamic appeal court in Nigeria overturned a sentence of death
an Islamic appeal court in Nigeria overturned a sentence of death
- NOVEMBER 4, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Nigerian government said it would take a definite...
The Nigerian government said it would take a definite position on the nation's death penalty act in 2005 with a view to abolish or retain the controversial capital punishment in the judicial system
- NOVEMBER 3, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
lawyers for Daso Adamu, a Nigerian mother...
lawyers for Daso Adamu, a Nigerian mother...
- OCTOBER 22, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Professor Oluyemisi Bamgbose, Chairperson of the National...
Professor Oluyemisi Bamgbose, Chairperson of the National Study Group on Death Penalty, publicly presented the Report of the Study Group
- OCTOBER 21, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
two Nigerian Muslim women sentenced to death by stoning
two Nigerian Muslim women sentenced to death by stoning
- OCTOBER 5, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Islamic court in Nigeria sentenced a women to death...
Islamic court in Nigeria sentenced a women to death by stoning for having sex out of wedlock, authorities said
- SEPTEMBER 21, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that Amnesty International had stepped...
It was reported that Amnesty International had stepped up a campaign to save 10 people on death row in Indonesia
- SEPTEMBER 21, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Islamic law courts in northern Nigeria had failed to...
Islamic law courts in northern Nigeria had failed to respect due legal process and human rights, resulting in discriminatory and harsh sentences, Human Rights Watch said
- SEPTEMBER 15, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Islamic court in Nigeria sentenced a women to death...
Islamic court in Nigeria sentenced a women to death by stoning for having sex out of wedlock, authorities said
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
A Court of Appeal in Malaysia upheld the death sentence...
A Court of Appeal in Malaysia upheld the death sentence of Msimanga Lesaly, a 37-year-old Nigerian businesswoman, for drug trafficking
- AUGUST 24, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
An Ado-Ekiti High Court recently sentenced to death...
An Ado-Ekiti High Court recently sentenced to death three persons by hanging for conspiracy and armed robbery
- MAY 19, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
United States Human Rights and Democracy report for...
United States Human Rights and Democracy report for the past year stated that the Nigerian government's human rights record had remained poor while the government had continued to commit serious abuses
- APRIL 21, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigeria voted against the resolution on the death penalty...
Nigeria voted against the resolution on the death penalty at the 60th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 20, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Sharia Appeal Court in the central Nigerian city...
The Sharia Appeal Court in the central Nigerian city of Minna, postponed the appeal of a young couple of former lovers who were sentenced to be stoned to death after a new defence lawyer moved to take over the case
- APRIL 11, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Nigerian Constitution states at Part II, Chapter IV on Fundamental Rights, Art.33.
The Nigerian Constitution states at Part II, Chapter IV on Fundamental Rights, Art.33.
- APRIL 6, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Central Jakarta Dstrict Court, Indonesia, sentenced...
The Central Jakarta Dstrict Court, Indonesia, sentenced to death Nigerian national Humprey Ijike for possession of heroin
- APRIL 5, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Nigerian federal government would start hand down...
The Nigerian federal government would start hand down death sentences to couriers of "hard" drugs and other illicit drugs, Almarun Ribadu, director of the Public Relations Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, warned
- APRIL 1, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigeria's notoriously aggressive police killed 7,198...
Nigeria's notoriously aggressive police killed 7,198 suspected armed robbers since the start of the year 2000, the force announced at a news conference
- MARCH 24, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigeria´s Niger State Sharia Appeal Court postponed...
Nigeria´s Niger State Sharia Appeal Court postponed for almost a month the appeal of a young couple of former lovers who were sentenced to be stoned to death
- MARCH 21, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Upper Sharia Court in Bauchi State, Nigeria, overturned...
The Upper Sharia Court in Bauchi State, Nigeria, overturned the conviction of Jibrin Babaji, a 23-year-old man who had been sentenced to be stoned to death for molesting three young boys
- MARCH 17, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
During his state visit to Nigeria, German President...
During his state visit to Nigeria, German President Johannes Rau criticised the fact that Islamic law was applied in the north of the country
- MARCH 10, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Recent revelation by the Federal Government that 458...
Recent revelation by the Federal Government that 458 condemned men have been in various prisons in some parts of the country, awaiting the hangman for the past 20 years and above, is a sad commentary on our judicial process
- MARCH 6, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Judges at the Tangerang District Court in Indonesia...
Judges at the Tangerang District Court in Indonesia sentenced Nigerian Stephen Rasyaad Akinyemi, 35, to death by firing squad for drug smuggling
- MARCH 1, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigeria said that it was looking for ways to "decongest"...
Nigeria said that it was looking for ways to "decongest" the death row sections of its jails, where 458 prisoners were awaiting execution, some of them for more than 20 years
- FEBRUARY 18, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
"The death penalty, as a mode of punishment, is contrary...
"The death penalty, as a mode of punishment, is contrary to the contemporary human rights standards and values and, thus, its continued application in Nigeria would downgrade the status of the country among the comity of democratic nation-states that have
- FEBRUARY 11, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI), an influential Nigerian...
The Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI), an influential Nigerian Islamic body, warned Amnesty International to stop interfering in Islamic religion in the name of human rights campaigns