Moves by the Nigerian Federal Government to abolish...

Moves by the Nigerian Federal Government to abolish capital punishment were described as a plan to contain the Sharia legal system and to reduce the stem of its spread in the country. Professor Auwalu Yadudu Legal Adviser to the late head of state, General Sani Abacha, made this observation in Minna, while presenting a paper on "Death Penalty: To Be Or Not To Be." The legal luminary said the Federal Government was afraid of the Islamic system, adding that the only way to check its spread was to introduce the abolition of capital punishment, a vital issue to the Sharia system. Yadudu argued that since the country was a federation, government at the centre should allow each state to determine if capital punishment should be retained. Yadudu said the Constitution recognised and endorsed capital punishment, adding that any plan to abolish it would require constitutional amendment.