The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace Most Rev. Dr.
Alfred Adewale Martins has declared capital punishment as unnecessary at this
era, saying it does not serve as true deterrent to criminals, reports ITRealms.
Reacting to unabated calmour in some quarters for the return
of capital punishment, the Archbishop also frowned at the growing trend of
jungle justice in the land, warning that such evil practices, if not
checkmated, were capable of setting back the judicial system and turning the
nation back to the era of pre-civilization.
Capital punishment as being advocated by some, he said, was
not only inhuman, but also outdated and unnecessary in a civilized country as
Nigeria.
“I want to state here that there is no empirical evidence to
prove that capital punishment does help to reduce crimes in the society. On the
contrary, we have seen situations where innocent persons have been sentenced to
death for no just. When such happens,
the injustice cannot be reversed” he asserted.
Proffering an alternative, Archbishop Martins said he believes
that criminals should be allowed to serve jail terms and also make necessarily
restitutions for their crimes, would have far-reaching impact on the society.
On the recent jungle justice reportedly being meted on some
suspected Badoo cult boys in parts of Ikorodu, the prelate expressed sadness at
the activities of the cult group, even as he appealed to Nigerians to endeavour
to have more regard for the sacredness of human life.
“The activities of the cult group are a reflection of the
rot in our society. A situation when so many youths are jobless, only leaves
them susceptible to easy manipulation by evil people for selfish purposes. I
appeal to our youths to refrain from cult activities as it grieves God’s heart.
Any act that brings sorrow and sadness to other humans is evil and should be
discarded,” the Archbishop warned.
Ayo Midele/GEE
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