Communication 427/12: SERAP (on behalf of Daniel Nsofor and Osayinwinde
Agbomien) v Nigeria
13th Extra-Ordinary Session
57th Ordinary Session
Summary of the Complaint
1. The Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the
Secretariat) received a Complaint on 25 October 2012 from the Socio-Economic
Rights and Accountability Project - SERAP (the Complainant), against the
Federal Republic of Nigeria1 (the Respondent State). SERAP is a Nigerian
registered human rights organization with Observer Status with the
Commission. The Complaint is submitted in terms of Article 55 and 56 of the
African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, (the African Charter).
2. The Respondent State is a State Party to the African Charter having ratified the
same on 1 October 1984.
3. The Complainant alleges that despite its obligations under the African Charter
and other international treaties to which it is a Party, the Government of the
Respondent State, through the Edo State authorities, has violated the right to a
fair trial of Daniel Nsofor and Osayinwinde Agbomien (the Victims), who are
two death row inmates at the Edo State Prison. It alleges that the Respondent
State has committed serious, persistent and irreparable violations of the Victims'
rights: to life; to competent and effective legal representation; to trial by a
competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law; to the
presumption of innocence; to appeal to an independent and impartial tribunal;
and to fair trial guarantees during appeals.
4. The Complainant further alleges that the Victims are at risk of imminent
execution, having been convicted of murder. Under Nigeria's penal laws the
death penalty is mandatory for murder. The Complainant states that in March
2010, a Nigerian NGO - Legal Defence and Advocacy Project (LEDAP) - had filed
an Appeal on behalf of 840 inmates - including the Victims, following which an
injunction was granted by the court upholding the Appeal, but which was later
lifted in April 2012. The Complainant states that LEDAP subsequently filed
another Appeal in April 2012 following the court's decision, and that the
judgment on that Appeal is pending.
5. The Complainant alleges that it has received reports that the gallows at the Benin
prison, in Edo State, were inspected and tested on 22 October 2012, and that it
1The Federal Republic of Nigeria ratified the African Charteron 22June1983.
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