FG condemns, demands corpses of executed Nigerians in Indonesia

The Federal Government has condemned the execution of four Nigerians by the Indonesian authorities over drug-related offences, despite pleas for clemency by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Nigerians executed in Indonesia

The government, while commiserating with the families of the deceased, demanded the repatriation of the corpses of the executed Nigerians.

It explained that they would be given decent burials by their various communities.

A terse statement on Wednesday from the Public Communications Division of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, gave the names of the executed Nigerians as Martin Anderson, Okwudili Oyatanze, Jaminu Abashin and Sylvester Obiekwe.

The government warned Nigerians to desist from drug trafficking and other offences.

The statement read in part, “The Federal Government of Nigeria has received with deep disappointment, news of the execution of four Nigerians ─ Martin Anderson, Okwudili Oyatanze, Jaminu Abashin and Sylvester Obiekwe ─ by the government of Indonesia for drug-related offences.

“These executions have taken place despite spirited pleas for clemency made at the highest level by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and more recently by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali.

“The Federal Government wishes to express its condolences to the families of the deceased.

“It has asked the Indonesian government for the repatriation of the remains of the executed persons so that they can be accorded decent burials by their various communities.

“Furthermore, government is committed to engage the government of Indonesia and other friendly countries regarding the conclusion of Prisoner Transfer Agreements and other bilateral means of safeguarding the interest and welfare of Nigerians.”

The convicts were reportedly taken to the Nusakambangan Island where they were executed by firing squad on Tuesday.

 

…Indonesia defends executions

Indonesia on Wednesday staunchly defended its execution of seven foreigners including two Australians as a vital front of its “war” on drugs as testimony emerged of how they went singing to their deaths, The Times of India reports.

Australia withdrew its ambassador in protest at the midnight executions, but Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, said he was merely applying “the rule of law” against narcotics traffickers.

The seven convicts – two from Australia, one from Brazil and four from Africa – were shot by firing squad along with one Indonesian, despite strident foreign appeals and pleas from family members.

Brazil expressed “deep regret” at the execution of its national, who is mentally ill according to his family, and said it was weighing its next move.

The condemned men reportedly all refused blindfolds and sang hymns, among them “Amazing Grace”, as they went to face the firing squad in a jungle clearing, according to a pastor who was with them.

As the clock ticked down to midnight, a group of tearful supporters also sang hymns, embraced and held candles aloft during a vigil at the port in Cilacap, the gateway to the prison island of Nusakambangan.

After the executions, family members could be seen crying as they were ushered away by friends and supporters, an AFP reporter saw.

A Filipina originally set to be executed was given an 11th hour reprieve after a woman who allegedly duped her into ferrying drugs to Indonesia came forward to police in the Philippines.

The reprieve for Mary Jane Veloso was hailed in the Philippines as a miracle and a gift from God, but Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo stressed it was only a “postponement” to allow time for police investigations.

FG condemns, demands corpses of executed Nigerians in Indonesia

Indonesia executes four Nigerians, others for drug offences despite International pleas

Indonesian authorities on Tuesday executed four Nigerians and four others for drug-related offences despite pleas by the United Nations, the European Union, Amnesty International and the Federal Government.

Nigerians executed in Indonesia

The Nigerians were identified as Martin Anderson, 50; Silvester Nwolise, 47; Okwudili Oyatanze, 41, and Jamiu Abashin, 50.

The convicts were reportedly taken to the Nusakambangan Island where they were executed by firing squad on Tuesday evening.

According to a report by the UK Guardian, Abashin was said to be homeless in Bangkok when a new “friend” offered him $400 to take some clothes to Indonesia.

He was nabbed in Surabaya with 5.5kilogrammes of heroin and sentenced to death in 1999.

Abashin was said to have appealed for presidential clemency, claiming he never knew he was carrying the drugs. His plea was rejected.

Nwolise was sentenced to death in 2002 for smuggling a kilogramme of heroin into Indonesia.

Oyatanze was sentenced to death in 2002, after being found guilty of attempting to bring 2.5kg of heroin through Jakarta in capsules inside his stomach.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, had on Monday personally appealed to Indonesia to stop their execution.

The European Union had also berated Indonesia’s plans to execute the convicts.

The EU had noted that the death penalty was not a solution to the rise in drug-related crimes in the country.

The only woman among the convicted, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso,   a Filipino, was spared in the last minute because a woman who reportedly tricked her into carrying drugs turned herself in.

The remains of the convicted would be taken to Jakarta, the Indonesia capital, on Tuesday according to reports.

Indonesia executes four Nigerians, others for drug offences despite International pleas

Indonesia rejects clemency, ready to execute Nigerian, other foreigners

Indonesia is ready to execute seven foreign drug convicts on death row after their appeals for presidential clemency were rejected, an official said, in a move certain to set Jakarta on a collision course with international allies.

They include two Australian leaders of the “Bali Nine” drug-smuggling gang, who have been on death row for almost a decade. The pair lost their appeals in December and earlier this month.

A spokesman for the attorney-general’s office revealed late Wednesday that a further five foreigners, from countries including France, Brazil, Nigeria and Ghana, have also lost their appeals.

Four Indonesians — only one of them convicted of drugs offences — had also lost their bid for clemency.

“The attorney general’s office now has 11 convicts on death row ready to be executed,” spokesman Tony Spontana said late Wednesday.

Indonesia earlier this month executed six drug offenders, including five foreigners, prompting a furious Brazil and the Netherlands — whose citizens were among those put to death — to recall their ambassadors.

Drug offenders from Vietnam, Malawi and Nigeria were also among those killed by firing squad.

Despite his image as a reformist, Indonesia’s new president has been a vocal supporter of capital punishment for drug offenders, disappointing rights activists who had hoped that he would take a softer line on the death penalty.

He has repeatedly vowed to show no clemency to drug traffickers. In a CNN interview broadcast earlier this week, Widodo vowed: “We are not going to compromise for drug dealers. No compromise. No compromise.”

“Imagine, every day, we have 50 people die because of narcotics, because of drugs,” he said.

“Indonesia is in the position of a drug emergency. We need to have something that’s firm and a positive law in Indonesia still allows the death penalty.”

Spontana said a decision had not yet been made on when or where the convicts would be executed, only that more than one would face the firing squad in the next round.

The Frenchman is Serge Atlaoui, who has been on death row since 2007, Spontana confirmed.

– ‘Distressed and outraged’ –

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said she was “distressed and outraged” after Indonesia defied her last-ditch pleas to halt the last round of executions.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders described all six of those deaths as “terribly sad”, adding: “My heart goes out to their families, for whom this is marks a dramatic end to years of uncertainty.”

The Australians set to be executed, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle eight kilograms (18 pounds) of heroin out of Indonesia.

Sukumaran’s appeal for clemency was rejected in December, and Chan’s was rejected earlier this month.

That removed the final hurdle to put the pair to death, as Indonesian authorities said they must be executed together as they had committed their crime together.

Lawyers for the pair are planning a last-ditch appeal to their convictions but the attorney-general’s office has said that further legal challenges are not possible once a clemency bid has been rejected.

The Frenchman Atlaoui was arrested in 2005 in a secret laboratory producing ecstasy close to Jakarta.

 

Indonesia rejects clemency, ready to execute Nigerian, other foreigners

Reps condemn execution of Nigerians in Indonesia‎

The House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs on Thursday decried the execution of two Nigerians by the authorities in Indonesia over alleged drug offences.

The Chairman of the committee, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, while condemning the executions, expressed concern that Indonesia ignored the pleas of the Federal Government and the National Assembly to spare the lives of the young Nigerians.‎

She noted that Indonesia cared less about the existing diplomatic relations between it and Nigeria by going ahead to‎ kill the Nigerians in spite of all the entreaties the latter made.

Dabiri-Erewa called for more proactive actions by the federal government to stop further execution of Nigerians in that country.

However, she did not specify the actions Nigeria should take against Indonesia.‎

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“The executions took place against the backdrop of the excellent relations that subsist between Nigeria and Indonesia, and more Nigerians are still on death row in Indonesia and may also be executed if the federal government does not take a more proactive and decisive measure with the Indonesian government,” part of a statement she released in Abuja, read.

She also advised young Nigerians travelling to other countries to stay away from crime so that they do not run foul of the laws of those countries.

She stated that whenever there were allegations of wrongdoing against Nigerians in foreign lands, the federal government ought to move swiftly to protect them by ensuring that they were given fair hearing.

The lawmaker added,‎ “In spite of our so-called booming economy and high Gross Domestic Product, how can one explain why Nigerian youths are leaving the country in droves in search of job opportunities in other lands?

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“A lot of them are seeking hope in hopelessness.”‎

Reps condemn execution of Nigerians in Indonesia‎

FG summons Indonesian envoy over execution of Nigerians

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Aminu Wali, has summoned the Indonesian Ambassador to register Nigeria’s protest over the execution, by firing squad, of two Nigerians,  Solomon  Okafor (Alias Namaona Denils) and Daniels Enemuo (Alias Diarrassoube Mamadou) by the Indonesian government.

The Nigerians were executed for drug offences at the Island of Nusakambangu in Cilacap, Central Java Province, despite appeals by the Federal Government.

Also executed with them were two women, one each from Indonesia and Vietnam, two Brazilians, and one Dutch national.

A statement on Sunday in Abuja by the Director, Public Communication Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, said the executions were carried out despite persistent pleas for clemency made by the FG  including the National Assembly.

“The executions had taken place against the grain of the excellent relations that subsist between Nigeria and Indonesia,” the statement noted.

The government expressed its sympathy and condolences to the families of the deceased and also appealed to Nigerians to desist from drug trafficking which attracts the capital punishment in Indonesia and in many other countries around the world.

The FG said it would continue to engage the Indonesian authorities to negotiate and conclude a Prisoner Transfer Agreement that may enable other convicted Nigerians to return home to serve their prison terms.

It said, “Thus, the ​F​oreign ​M​inister has summoned the Indonesian Ambassador to register Nigeria’s protest.

“Meanwhile, it strongly appeals, once again, to the Indonesian authorities to exercise clemency for other 12 Nigerians on the death row in the country.”

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FG summons Indonesian envoy over execution of Nigerians