Amnesty International, AI, has sent a fervent plea to the Nigerian authorities, to urgently demand the nullification of the death sentence imposed on Mustapha Abubakar, a 15-year-old, who languishes on death row within the forbidding confines of the Maiduguri Maximum Security Custodial Centre in the troubled region of Borno State.
Mustapha Abubakar’s case is a stark illustration of the gross injustice perpetrated when individuals who committed offences while still minors are subjected to the direst of consequences, a flagrant violation of international human rights law.
This horrifying disclosure underscores a disturbing pattern of misconduct, as Amnesty International’s own investigation in April 2019 exposed rampant sexual violence against both children and women, perpetrated by both security agents and inmates, within the two high-security prison facilities located in Borno State.
The heart-wrenching element of Mustapha Abubakar’s ordeal extends even further, as it has come to light that he is purportedly enduring a nightmarish existence, subjected to the horrors of sexual abuse within the confines of his detention.
The profoundly distressing disclosure has emerged from the shadows of this tragedy: a multitude of children, like Mustapha, find themselves unlawfully confined alongside adults within the grim confines of Maiduguri Prison.
This disclosure not only compounds the injustice being meted out to these young souls but also serves as a grim indictment of a system that is failing in its duty to protect and rehabilitate its youth.
Amnesty International’s impassioned call for justice is a resounding plea for a return to humanity and adherence to the principles of international law. It is a fervent appeal to ensure that those who have not yet reached the age of maturity are shielded from the gravest of penalties.
Moreover, it is a sombre reminder that the darkness of abuse and injustice must be dispelled, and the innocent, particularly the children, must be safeguarded from such horrors, even within the walls of justice. It is a call to address the glaring flaws and violations within the criminal justice system, to right these grievous wrongs, and to, in the name of justice and compassion, intervene and secure the release and protection of Mustapha Abubakar and others who share his plight.
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