MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
18.11.2008
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Marios Matsakis, Marco Cappato, Marco Pannella
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on the death penalty in Nigeria
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0602/2008
B6‑0602/2008
European Parliament resolution on the death penalty in Nigeria
The European Parliament,
- -having regard to its previous resolutions on placeplaceNigeria,
- -having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
- A.whereas hundreds of people on death row in placeplaceNigeria did not have a fair trial and may therefore be innocent,
- B.whereas the Nigerian Government has begun a national debate on whether or not the death penalty should be abolished,
- C.whereas the conditions in most of placeplaceNigeria's 227 prisons are dehumanising,
- D.whereas more than half the country's 40,000 prison inmates have not been tried or sentenced,
- E.whereas chronic but preventable diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, influenza and pneumonia are also present in the prisons,
- F.whereas placeplaceNigeria has not officially reported any executions since 2002,
- G.whereas on 1 October 2008, on the 47th anniversary of placeplaceNigeria's independence, four state governors announced pardons and commuting of sentences for 57 death row prisoners,
1. Calls on the Federal Government of Nigeria to abolish the death penalty;
2. Stresses that, pending abolition, the government should declare an immediate moratorium on all executions as provided by UN General Assembly resolution 62/149 and commute without delay all death sentences to terms of imprisonment;
3. Calls on EU and other relevant authorities to closely monitor the situation of pending death penalties and the overall evolution of the criminal justice system in placeplaceNigeria;
4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Member States, the Secretary General of the UN; the General Secretary of the African Union and the government of Nigeria.