The Lagos State Executive
Council has retained the use of the
death penalty in the state's Criminal
Justice Law.
Ade Ipaye, Lagos State Attorney-
General and Commissioner for
Justice, made this known in a
statement issued on Thursday.
Ipaye said the council arrived at the
decision after a survey showed that
majority of Lagos residents were in
support of capital punishment in the
criminal justice system of the state.
The attorney-general said majority of
the respondents were of the view
that the retention of the death
penalty would serve as deterrence
against violent crimes, such as
murder and armed robbery.
Ipaye said following several abolition
campaigns and international
advocacy which were addressed to
the government, the council
considered the proposition to
abolish or retain the death penalty
in its laws.
“In taking its decision, the state
commissioned an empirical research
that surveyed the perception of
Lagos residents and elicited their
opinion on the abolition debate,
including the question whether they
believe the death penalty currently
deters violent crime.
"The survey was undertaken in two
categories: public survey (random
selection of 2 000 members of the
public) and the experts’ survey
(selected 100 persons who have
close contact with the criminal
justice process and systems).
"Majority of the respondents
surveyed supported the use of the
death penalty in Lagos State.
"The survey also revealed that over
54 per cent of the respondents
advised the Lagos State Government
to execute convicts on death row,"
Ipaye said.
According to him, a large number of
respondents also believed that the
death penalty should be retained
because it serves positive retributive
and deterrence purposes.
http://m.news24.com/nigeria/National/News/Lagos-retains-use-of-death-penalty-20150219