A Case for the Limitation of Offences Prescribing Capital Punishment in Nigeria

Abstract

Capital punishment also referred to as death penalty simply means the imposition and execution of death sentence on a person found guilty of an infraction of State Law prohibiting such act or omission. This phenomenon has polarized criminal justice administrators, human rights activists as well as lawyers who hold divergent views on whether to stop or continue the imposition of capital punishment for any offence at all. This has led to the emergence of two schools of thought: the abolitionists and the retentionists. This paper examines the views of the two groups in Nigeria and suggests that the midway approach is to reduce the number of offences involving death penalty in the country as this has the effect of bringing the country closer to where most other civilized nations that have abolished capital punishment are today.