Nigerian footballer executed in Singapore for drug trafficking

The 35 years old late Chijioke Obioha was said  to have gone to the Asian country for a football trail when he was cut trafficking in hard drug on April 9 2007. Consequent upon that he was sentenced to death some years back and reminded in death row until yesterday when he was executed. Reacting to the death of late Chijioke Obioha, the senior special assistant to the president on foreign affairs and diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa in her statement signed by her special assistant on media, Abudul-Rahman Balogun in Abuja stated thus, "while we regret the death sentence passed on the Nigerian, we once again appeal to Nigerians to avoid crimes with most countries especially in Asia declaring zero tolerance for drug trafficking" comment:the nation.

Amnesty international also intervened in order to stop the killing of late chijiolke but their request was rejected. Rafends Djamin Amnesty international's director for south-East Asia and Pacific said, "The Singapore government still has time to halt the execution of Chijioke Stephen Obioha".

"We are dismayed that clemency has not been granted in his case but still hopeful that they won"t carry out this cruel and irreversible punishment against a person sentenced to the mandatory death penalty for a crime that should not even be punished by death".

"Death penalty is never the solution. It will not rid Singapore of drugs.".

"By executing people of drug-related offences, which do not meet the threshold of most serious crimes, Singapore is violating international law".

"Under Singaporean law, when there is a presumption of drug possession and trafficking, the burden of proof shifts from the prosecutor to the defendant".

"This violates the right to fair trail by turning the presumption of innocences on its head".

"Drug-related offences do not meet the threshold of the "most serious crimes" to which the use of death penalty must be restricted under the international law".

"International law also prohibits the impostion of death penalty as amandatory punishment and Amnesty international opposes the use of death penalty outright, regardless of the crime".