PRIMATE, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh has berated Amnesty International (AI) for condemning Edo State government over the recent execution of death sentence on four inmates in Benin.
The primate who urged the Federal Government not to allow itself to be gagged by anybody, also called for the imposition of capital punishment on perpetrators of crimes, including rape and killing.
In June, after their death warrants were signed by the Edo State Gov. Adams Oshiomhole, Osaremwinda Aigbuohian and Daniel Nsofor—whose lawyers have been struggling to obtain a stay of execution on the death sentence; and two other convicts whose identities are yet to be ascertained were hang-ed in Benin.
The act has generated criticisms by both local and international bodies.
Okoh who was speaking at a press conference in Abuja noted that the human rights body had no justification to cri-ticize the government’s action, as they were neither directly nor indirectly affected by the action of those inmates.
He warned that the government should not allow anybo-dy or organization to teach it what morality is, insisting that, “the law of capital punishment for those who rightly deserve it should be enforc-ed.
“It is not true to say that punishment does not deter crime! It does. The difference bet-ween our society and society outside is that, we have laws which are not enforced. Nigerians outside obey laws, but as soon as they come back here, they feel above the law.
“So, punishment must be effected and that is the essence of government. The Bible supports it, and the government cannot abdicate from punishing crime in the name of Amnesty International,” he said.
On insecurity, Okoh maintained that insecurity persists in Nigeria because politicians are playing politics with it.
The primate also advised young ladies to refrain from indecent dressing and nudity in order to avoid being sexually harassed. He called on religious leaders to emphasise the teaching of morality.
Source: Vanguard
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