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afrol News, 29 August - For the first time, also a Nigerian man is facing a death by stoning sentence by a northern Nigerian Shari'a court for sex crimes. Although the man is found guilty of having raped a nine-year old girl, international human rights groups still protest the death by stoning sentence. Earlier this month, an appellate Shari'a court in northern Nigeria upheld a stoning sentence against a 30-year old woman for having sex outside marriage. The stoning sentences against women that are getting pregnant outside marriage - and not the men impregnating them - have caused national and international outrage. The first death by stoning sentence against a man on sex crimes causes less outrage - but still some protest - given the crime he is convicted of. A Shari'a (Islamic law) court in Nigeria's northern state of Jigawa sentenced Ado Baranda to death by stoning in May after finding him guilty of raping a nine-year old girl. The defendant, who is in his fifties, reportedly pleaded guilty and declined the opportunity to appeal. The US-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW), which opposes the death penalty in general, today condemned the imposition of the stoning sentence. The reason for the decision of the convicted not to appeal has not been confirmed, but "on the basis of past experience, we are concerned the trial may not have been fair," said Peter Takirambudde of the group. "The absence of fair trial process is especially worrying when death sentences are handed down." According to HRW, previous trials in Shari'a courts in several northern states of Nigeria had been "characterised by an absence of due process." Defendants did not always have legal representation; they were often ill-informed about procedures and about their rights. Judges and other court officials frequently lacked legal training, the group complains. In January 2002, for the first time since Shari'a was extended to cover criminal cases, a man was sentenced to death on other accusations, and executed. In the trial, the defendant did not have legal representation and did not take up the opportunity to appeal. A spokesman for the Jigawa state government was quoted on 27 August in the Nigerian newspaper 'This Day' and in Agence France Presse (AFP) as saying, "In Shari'a there is no compromise. The only compromise is if someone should appeal." The government spokesman reportedly also stated that the Governor of Jigawa would not intervene in the case of Ado Baranda. Human Rights Watch in a statement released today again called on Nigeria's federal government to "abolish the death penalty in Nigeria and ban cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments such as stoning." - We deplore the crime of which this defendant is accused, and anyone found guilty of rape should receive a heavy sentence, said Takirambudde. "However, taking another person's life in the name of justice is not an appropriate punishment, especially when the fairness of the trial may be in doubt," he added. Despite statements from senior government officials, including President Olusegun Obasanjo and Minister of Justice Kanu Agabi, opposing such punishments and declaring them unconstitutional, the federal government had yet to prove its willingness to act. Human rights groups in general are opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances because of its "inherently cruel and irreversible nature." The countries where the death penalty is most widely practices are however non-African and include the United States, Saudi Arabia and China.
Sources:
Based on HRW, press reports and afrol archives
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