Germany, Australia, and legal advocacy groups, including Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) France, have praised President Tinubu for commuting seven death row sentences to life imprisonment, and called on Nigeria to abolish the death penalty altogether.
At a screening of the film “Just Mercy” in Abuja to mark the 2025 World Day Against the Death Penalty, each delegation reaffirmed that capital punishment is inconsistent with core human rights values. The German Ambassador, Annett Günther, described the punishment as irreversible and flawed, especially for cases prone to wrongful convictions.
The Australian Chargé d’Affaires echoed these views, labeling the death penalty ineffective and calling on Nigeria to join the growing global trend toward abolition. ASF France committed continuing legal support to inmates facing capital charges across Nigerian states.
