Eighteen persons including nationals of Nigeria, Chad and Egypt have been executed after being convicted of premeditated murder, a Libyan newspaper, Cerene, has reported.


The number of Nigerians killed in the executions done last Sunday has not been ascertained.Of the 18, 14 were executed in the capital, Tripoli, Cerene reported, while the four other executions were carried out in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city. Their identities have not been made public by Libyan authorities.
More than 200 people are currently on death row in Libya, the Cerene report said.


They are believed to include a large number of foreign nationals against whom the death penalty appears to be used disproportionately.They are also often allegedly not provided with interpretation or translation assistance during legal proceedings, which are conducted in Arabic, or given access to their own government’s consular representatives.


A Nigerian on death row in Libya, Lawrence Ero, also confirmed the execution to THISDAY by telephone, expressing hope that the Nigerian Consulate in Libya would come and intervene in his case and those of others still on death row.
Reacting to the execution, Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of not doing enough since it was made to be aware of the plight of some Nigerians in Libya last year.
“It is time we take up Libya on issues of execution because most of those offenders were killed simply because they could not understand the charges being read in Arabic,” she said lamenting that there is a penchant for killing blacks in the country.


Dabiri-Erewa also wants the country to appoint a charge d’Affairs to replace the ambassador recalled because of the statement made by the country’s leader Muamar Ghadaffi that Nigeria should be split along religious lines.
“No country watches its citizens being killed in another nation without intervening,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Amnesty International has maintained that it is opposed to death penalty in all cases, describing it as the ultimate form of cruel and inhuman punishment and a violation of the right to life.


Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Malcolm Smart, said: “In the case of Libya , we fear that death sentences are handed down after proceedings, which fail to satisfy international standards for fair trial.”
“Last Sunday’s dreadful events should not be repeated. The authorities should reveal the identities of the 18 people who were executed and vow to desist from further executions.” Smart said.


Amnesty International pointed out that foreign nationals are at a disadvantage compared to Libyans in seeking commutation of their death sentences because they generally have limited financial means and lack a family network in Libya that can assist them by negotiating with the family of their alleged victim.
“In cases of qisas (retribution for murder) and diya (financial compensation or blood money), the murder victim’s next-of-kin may agree to pardon the person convicted and under sentence of death in return for financial compensation.” Amnesty International explained.


It lamented that to date, the Libyan government has resisted moves towards the abolition of the death penalty recalling that in December 2007 and 2008, Libya was among the minority of states that voted against successful United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolutions calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions.


“The Libyan authorities must declare a moratorium on executions and join the international trend towards abolition of the death penalty,” Smart said. “They should also commute the sentences of all those on death row.”


Amnesty International urged the authorities to ensure that the most rigorous internationally-recognized standards for fair trial are respected, particularly in death penalty cases.
“It is unconscionable that people may still be sentenced to death and executed in Libya after trials which fail to meet the highest international standards,” Smart said.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=174754

Very soon we Nigerians will gradually begin to understand that no matter what,home is best,

All the countries of the world know that the Nigerian govt is just a bunch of useless idiots
who dont know what they are there for.
Nigeria in itself (believe it or not) is a caricature on the international scene.

As a result, countless nigerians are mistreated, slaughtered and punished unnecessarily
while the nigerian consulates there (full of village staff who know 'OGA') sit there and sells visas.

Nobody takes any nigerian govt official seriously (like a small child) because everybody knows he does not
know what he's doing and is there purely for the money only.


Otherwise why would Nigerians get executed willy-nilly in libya, launguish in jail in their thousands especially
in S.E asia till death, get shot in Poland and get attacked in public in Russia, china and eastern europe?

We dont have a respectable Govt yet so the execution will carry on.
Nigeria itself is just a bunch of people living together.

hatch#:

Very soon we Nigerians will gradually begin to understand that no matter what,home is best,

Thank you o-o-jare, my brother, a home is still home no matter what. Although i only knew this after being away from the country. Am aware of the good, the bad and the ugly in Nigeria, but that is where I was born and raised up, we all just have to find our way around the system to achieve whatever goals we are aiming at right there in our own country . If foreigners could succeed in reaching their goals in our country with bad economy, why can't we?

if they broke d law by an offense dat warrants capital purnishment,i beg issue am.our own too much.na federal govt say make u go commit crime for another person land.ppplease!

chaircover:

We need to address the problem and not indirectly say that Nigerians should remain in Nigeria

hackney:

All the countries of the world know that the Nigerian govt is just a bunch of useless idiots
who dont know what they are there for.
Nigeria in itself (believe it or not) is a caricature on the international scene.

As a result, countless nigerians are mistreated, slaughtered and punished unnecessarily
while the nigerian consulates there (full of village staff who know 'OGA') sit there and sells visas.

Nobody takes any nigerian govt official seriously (like a small child) because everybody knows he does not
know what he's doing and is there purely for the money only.


Otherwise why would Nigerians get executed willy-nilly in libya, launguish in jail in their thousands especially
in S.E asia till death, get shot in Poland and get attacked in public in Russia, china and eastern europe?

We dont have a respectable Govt yet so the execution will carry on.
Nigeria itself is just a bunch of people living together.

May be the people who are sensible enough to address the problem have all probably left the country hustling all around in different part of the world rather than contributing their own part to lift the country out of it's misery. Who knows,  if you would have remain in Nigeria, probably by now, you might have been undertaking something against the action of the Libyan government or be a Nigeria ambassador to Libya to prevent the execution of this Nigerians. So tell me how you you are going to fulfill your own obligations and patriotism to your country when you are 7000 kilometres away from it. What we need presently in Nigeria are people of action, motivation, a role model, more of governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (Lagos State governor) and Adams Oshiomhole ( Edo State governor), people who will turn the pressure of the people into pleasure. Encourage the Nigerians abroad to come back home and invest to improve the economy and the one at home to make better use of themselves and stop dreaming and waiting for manna to drop from heaven. It is nothing new that Nigeria leaders are corrupt, but what are we -the masses doing against it, some Western World faced similar problems in the past but they found a solution to it. Raji Fashola and Adams Oshiomhole would not have move a step forward in the histroy of the country by living abroad. So please people stop blaming and complaining and please start acting.

That is why i am surprise some sane nigerians still can fly nigerian flags.Nigerian citizenry exist only by name not in practice.

The Sooner i get my British passport the better it will be. As a Nigerian one is helpless inside the country talk less of outside of the country. One can never imagine Libya executing EU or American citizens. It just so sad that the so called leaders have put self interest before the masses interest . I cry for Nigeria

who send them message to libya

hatch#:

Very soon we Nigerians will gradually begin to understand that no matter what,home is best,

berra dont let those bini people hear this one from you.you forgot that the capital of edo is 'ITALY'

i laugh when people in this forum talk about ' HOME IS BEST". these people lack knowledge about this country, many graduates in this country now wonder about without hope of getting a job. a friend of mine travel to poland last year after 2years of searching for job, but he can tell you boldly now that he sees a better future for himself, dis is someone who has lost hope b4 travelling out of this country, he now work as well as doing his master program. Travelling out of nigeria may not make u rich but it will give u better oppurtunity than wat we experience in this country. pls while we try to be patriotic , we should also be realistic.

brownciga:

i laugh when people in this forum talk about ' HOME IS BEST". these people lack knowledge about this country, many graduates in this country now wonder about without hope of getting a job. a friend of mine travel to poland last year after 2years of searching for job, but he can tell you boldly now that he sees a better future for himself, dis is someone who has lost hope b4 travelling out of this country, he now work as well as doing his master program. Travelling out of nigeria may not make u rich but it will give u better oppurtunity than wat we experience in this country. pls while we try to be patriotic , we should also be realistic.

and you like it when they go abroad illegally,engage in illegal activities and get killed ilegally too.

It sound so funny when this kind of issue comes up and people are just saying all sorts of things that hold no ground.

Like some people posted like " Who send them to Libya, What are they looking for", "Home is home, "kill them if they commit crime and so on pls what is sense in all these, No sense!!!

For those who said who send them to Libya Pls is there any country in the world with no foreingner? Pls if you know any give proof but if not then if your fellow human beign went to struggle and was killed or executed or had it be is one of your family you wont say so. Listen to every travellers I mean a well expose person knows Libya has always kill and execute Nigeria just any how the record is there.

For those who are asking what are they looking for in Libya I can equally ask you what are the American or EU looking for in Yemen, Afghanistan, Western Sahara do these countries produce oil ? Pls be well inform and do your check and balance before posting anything or responding to any thread.

For those who saID home is home yeah you are right let me tell you today every Nigeria outside want to come home they love there country so much I had met an America Ambassador in one of the Africa country before and he told me he like Nigeria people and I asked why he said no matter how comfortable they are outside there country they always desire to go home, they always sing Nigeria nigeria and he said no other country has such passion and love for his home land in Africa soil but dear poster home is home where is home now can you tell the thousands of unemploy graduates that home is home after six years at home doing nothing?

All is the fault of our government and leaders who had decided to ruin our generation completely, a silly leader with mad government, can Libya or whatever they called themselves kill or execute America or any EU citizen?

na so dem go dey kill our brothers for faraway countries and our govt. no go do anything. even news no go carry am. may their souls rest in peace.

Besides miscarriage of justice can occur in Nigeria too. We need to address the problem and not indirectly say that Nigerians should remain in Nigeria

Gbosa!!!

The world is for everyone. No man can be an island.

Nigerians must be free to go anywhere in the world and be treated fairly.

if same Libya cannot kill the 'Bulgarian Nurses' because EU put pressure, I see no reason why GoodLuck cannot put pressure.

Instead he went to France and Saudi when his people are being killed like rats by Gaddafi!

Well said, Otawa

brownciga:

i laugh when people in this forum talk about ' HOME IS BEST". these people lack knowledge about this country, many graduates in this country now wonder about without hope of getting a job. a friend of mine travel to poland last year after 2years of searching for job, but he can tell you boldly now that he sees a better future for himself, dis is someone who has lost hope b4 travelling out of this country, he now work as well as doing his master program. Travelling out of nigeria may not make u rich but it will give u better oppurtunity than wat we experience in this country. pls while we try to be patriotic , we should also be realistic.

And that realistic of yours is for everyone to check out of the country,  wandering and scattering themselves all around the whole world like lost marbles. Even the Israelites came to realised that there is no place like home after wandering in the wilderness for forty years. Do you have an idea of what it takes to travel out of Nigeria, to be allowed entry at the port of destination, to have papers/residence and working permit at the country of destination, for your human right to be abused e.g. being discriminated because of your race, accent and s-x and do you know the numbers of Nigerian living illegally and beggarly abroad, tarnishing daily the image of Nigeria one way or the other just like most of our leaders. All what you said about your friends living abroad are words of mouth and not what you witness. Try to research more and better about Nigerians living abroad and their reputation. Being unable to live legally in most countries abroad has forced many Nigerians into drugs, prostitution, fraud e.t.c.  and some people are still bold to say that Nigeria is a shitty country. Thank your star for not being born in a less priveledge countries like Chad, Niger, Sudan, Somali e.t.c

ohisng:

who send them message to libya

Na me!

bisiaet:

Like some people posted like " Who send them to Libya, What are they looking for", "Home is home, "kill them if they commit crime and so on pls what is sense in all these, No sense!!!

I support capital punishment for murder
Why? the victim could be my father, mother, daughter or any of my relative.

bisiaet:

Listen to every travellers I mean a well expose person knows Libya has always kill and execute Nigeria just any how the record is there.

Hear your own statement yourself!!!

b) It is a known fact that since over two decades Libya has demonstrated with their action that black Africans are not wanted or wellcome in their country, through deportation, maltreatment, especially Nigerians and negative comment/unnecessary interference in the affairs of black African countries.
So if we are all aware of this, what then are we damn looking for in their country? Anyone who embarks on a journey to such countries like Libya must be ready to face the consequence.

And if you look at it from another perspective, the Nigerians most common jobs in Libya are  prostitution, drugs and forgery which are against the country law and religious belief.

bisiaet:

For those who said who send them to Libya Pls is there any country in the world with no foreingner? Pls if you know any give proof but if not then if your fellow human beign went to struggle and was killed or executed or had it be is one of your family you wont say so. Listen to every travellers I mean a well expose person knows Libya has always kill and execute Nigeria just any how the record is there.

bisiaet:

For those who are asking what are they looking for in Libya I can equally ask you what are the American or EU looking for in Yemen, Afghanistan, Western Sahara do these countries produce oil ? Pls be well inform and do your check and balance before posting anything or responding to any thread.

Correct, there are foreigners in every countries in the world but not all foreigners are wellcomed in every countries, it is a common sense to know if your own kind of foreigners are wellcome in a particular country or not. If you are not a soldier, you wouldn't see any ordinary American or British citizen just taking a walk along one of the streets in Karashi, Kabul or Baghdad.

bisiaet:

Africa soil but dear poster home is home where is home now can you tell the thousands of unemploy graduates that home is home after six years at home doing nothing?

You are right, but if the eyes is patient enough it will definitely see the nose, some of my friends make it in that same country

bisiaet:

All is the fault of our government and leaders who had decided to ruin our generation completely, a silly leader with mad government, can Libya or whatever they called themselves kill or execute America or any EU citizen?

Yesssssss,  they dooooo in a BIGGGGGGG time, they bomb them all in hundreds.

I support capital punishment for murder
Why? the victim could be my father, mother, daughter or any of my relative.

and will that bring back your LOVED ones?

And what is difference between you and the killer? both of you have killed.

And we know this does not stop or reduce homicide crimes.

UK like western Europe has no death sentence but USA with its death sentence still remain a country with higher homicide rate.

The question is why would someone kill another person? Nobody is born mad. It takes a whole society to improve things.

@otawa,hope u are not making a direct comparison because the us has a larger population,obviously that would translate to a larger number of cases per volume.
with regards to capital purnishment bringing anybody back,will jail terms bring them back?if you are guilty of intentionally taking a life,u should SUFFER death in literal terms.

otawa:

and will that bring back your LOVED ones?

No, it won't, but it will discourage more from happening

otawa:


And what is difference between you and the killer? both of you have killed.

The difference is that one is paying for his crime and and the other is seeing to it that justice is done. Even the Old testamnet support this ("Thou shall not kill", as a result " an eye for an eye"

otawa:

And we know this does not stop or reduce homicide crimes.

Then some certain amendment is needed in the law

otawa:

UK like western Europe has no death sentence but USA with its death sentence still remain a country with higher homicide rate.

Yes, that is due to their population and the fact that the law encourage the use arms for self defence in public, and mind you UK is catching up quickly with america or how do you expain the 9, 10, 11 years old kids gangster killing each other daily in the UK.

killing humans like a chicken *shakes my head* Damn!!!

waladis, u talk about some nigerians living abroad being beggars but have u notice how many nigerians that are beggars in their own land. go to the north, south of nigeria, they are everywhere. someone like philip emeagwali,we tell u if not for america he would not have discovered his talent. go to countries like poland, sweden, norway, denmark, finland e.t.c you have free health care be u a citizen or not,as long as u pay tax but in nigeria can u get a free health care despite all the taxes. i dont encourage travelling illegally. some european countries give thier citizens and non citizens free education but these countries are not as rich as nigeria in terms of G.D.P but they appreciate there citizens. barrack obama earns 60million naira yearly while people like bankole earns 300million naira despite the unemployment in nigeria. as far as i am concern Nigeria has nothing to offer its citizens.

Nigerians should also learn to behave themselves when in foreign lands.

Nigerians abroad are at the mercy of their host countries, since nobody in government gives a damn what happens to them.

Nigerians abroad have contributed positively to the economy. Most of the so called fast food at home now such as TFC and the like were established by Nigerians in diaspora, and these have created jobs for many. Also, technologically, Nigerians have brought in fresh and constructive ideas to the nation. In Ghana now, Nigerians are doing very well because of their stable economy.Though there is no place like home but we need to explore other nations for ideas because whatever we have been doing for the past forty years are not working for us.

berra dont let those bini people hear this one from you.you forgot that the capital of edo is 'ITALY'

old boy you are wicked oh.

That Libyan President Mammood Ghadafi, that man is something else.
Despite the plea by the Amnesty International, yet he went ahead to
order the murder of those 18.Well, may their souls rest in the bossom
of the Lord.

this is rubbish!

this is terrible!