A Nigerian and other nationals have been convicted and will soon be executed for drug related offences by the Indonesian government
It will be recalled that, Indonesia brushed aside last-minute appeals by foreign leaders and executed by firing squad six people convicted of drug trafficking, including five foreigners, sending a message that the new government will not compromise its tough approach to narcotics.
But the Nigerian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, summoned the Indonesian Ambassador to protest the execution of two Nigerians, Solomon Okafor, (Alias Namaona Denils) and Daniels Enemuo, (Alias Diarrassoube Mamadou) by the Indonesian government.
However, in addition to Chan and Sukumaran, five men from France, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia, and a woman from the Philippines, will face a firing squad after being moved to Nusa Kambangan prison, Attorney General’s Office spokesman Tony Spontana said, without giving exact dates. Six other drug smugglers, including five foreigners, were executed in January at the same prison, located off Indonesia’s main island of Java.
According to media report, they would be transferred to a prison island this week for imminent execution despite international appeals for clemency.
Among the eight are Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 33, the ringleaders of a group of nine Australians who were arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms (18.3 pounds) of heroin to Australia from the Indonesian resort island of Bali. The seven other members of the group — dubbed the “Bali Nine” by Australian media — have received prison sentences ranging from 20 years to life.
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has rejected appeals by Australia’s government for clemency for Chan and Sukumaran, and vowed not to grant mercy to any other drug offenders because Indonesia is suffering a “drug emergency.”
Australia has abolished capital punishment and opposes executions of any Australian overseas.
Lawyers for the two Australians, who are currently being held at a Bali prison, filed a complaint in an administrative court last week to challenge Jokowi’s rejection of the appeals, arguing that it was made without consideration of their remorse and rehabilitation. A hearing on the complaint is scheduled for next week.
Spontana, however, said the executions would not be delayed. “Their legal options were exhausted after their clemency was rejected by the president,” he said. “The next step is execution.”
In Australia earlier Monday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he had personally appealed to Jokowi to stop the executions.
“Like millions of Australians, I feel sick in the pit of my stomach when I think about what is quite possibly happening to these youngsters,” Abbott told reporters.
He said that his government has been trying to appeal to Indonesia’s sense of itself as a stable democracy under the rule of law.
“What I don’t want to do is turn this into some kind of test of strength,” Abbott said. “I think we are much more likely to back the Indonesians into a corner than to get the result we want.”