Capital Punishment, the Death Row Phenomenon and the Supreme Court of Nigeria: Onuoha Kalu vs. The State [1998] 12 S.C.N.J. 1

The issue of constitutionality1 2 of capital punishment and some aspects of the punishment came before the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Onuoha Kalii v The State? This was the first time that the issue was properly raised in the Supreme Court. The full court (consisting of seven justices of the Court3) gave a unanimous decision affirming the constitutionality of the death penalty in Nigeria. This judgement was delivered in December, 1998. A review of this case is now necessary and desirable for three reasons. One, apart from the issue of capital punishment being of international interest and concern, there has been a controversy surrounding the constitutionality of capital punishment in Nigeria since the enactment of the 1979 Nigerian Constitution.4 Arguments had been advanced that the Constitution has impliedly abrogated capital punishment in Nigeria.5 The case has now settled the legal point though the social controversy remains.