President Obasanjo said that he was committed to fighting...

President Obasanjo said that he was committed to fighting to save lives and would continue the campaign "here in our country and internationally.""For me, the most sacred thing in life is life and none of us has the right to take what is so sacred. I am not against punishment but it should not be terminal," Obasanjo told members of the non-governmental organisation led by a member of the Italian Parliament, Roberto Giachetti.He added that "Some of the mistakes we make in life can be corrected but the mistake of taking life cannot be corrected. We can never be absolutely certain that a death sentence is fair and taking one life never brings back another. If it is to serve as deterrent, taking life, in history, has never really served as a deterrent." "As President I am committed to saving lives and not eliminating them", he stated after receiving, Hands Off Cain's annual publication The Death Penalty Worldwide: 2002 Report, dedicated, this year, to him. The President said he adhered to Hands Off Cain's worldwide campaign for a moratorium on executions and stated that he was committed to fighting to save lives and would continue the campaign "here in our country and internationally.""I'm not against punishing but the punishment shouldn't be extreme and final," he said.To reassure the delegation on Amina's fate, Obasanjo recounted an episode that befell him in his former capacity of military commander. A soldier had killed his partner in a fit of jealousy. He had been found guilty and given the death sentence by a court martial, but Obasanjo had his sentence commuted. Members of the delegation - including European MP Benedetto Della Vedova, HOC General Secretary Sergio D'Elia and Moratorium Campaign Co-ordinator Elisabetta Zamparutti - were received at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, with the Italian Ambassador Giovanni Germano. HOC also expressed its support of the Federal Government's efforts to develop democratic processes and the respect of human rights in the country, in opposition to the political use and implementation of Sharia law in some of its northern states.Nigeria's Minister for Women's Affairs and Youth development Aishatu Ismail was also present during this meeting.