The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called on the federal government to declare an official moratorium on executions and urged state governors to commute eligible death sentences to life imprisonment, amid concerns that more than 3,000 inmates remain on death row across Nigeria. The commission noted that Nigeria is approaching 10 consecutive years without a state execution, meeting the international standard for a de facto moratorium. NHRC Executive Secretary Chief Tony Ojukwu made the call in Abuja during the commemoration of the 2026 World Day Against the Death Penalty. Ojukwu urged the federal government to formalise the suspension of executions and called on state governors to exercise their constitutional prerogative of mercy.
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