indonesia
Photo: (AFP)

 

A few minutes after midnight on Friday, Indonesia executed three Nigerians and one of its citizens for drug crimes. And what a complete image of horror it was! Apart from the timing which was quite odd (a few minutes past midnight), the execution was done under a thunderstorm which swept through the island of Nusakambangan in Central Java Province.

The Nigerians executed were Michael Titus Igweh, Humphrey Jefferson Ejike Eleweke and Seck Osmane. The Indonesian was Freddy Budiman. Fourteen convicts were initially scheduled for execution on Friday but according to the country’s Attorney General, Muhammad Prasetyo, action on the 10 others was delayed so a comprehensive review of the cases on them could be carried out to avoid any mistake.

Prasetyo said the date for the execution of the others has not been fixed. Two out of the 10 are said to have applied for presidential clemency which means President Joko Widodo will have a final say on their fate. However, the legal process that will determine the success or otherwise of the applications takes a long time.

Even at that, Widodo does not appear to have any sympathy for drug convicts. Since he came to power in 2014, Indonesia has carried out three executions in which 18 people, who were mostly foreigners, were killed. The executions of April, last year drew global outrage particularly because the Indonesian government ignored pleas from various parts of the world for clemency. Two Australians, who appeared to have attracted most of the pleas, were among those executed.

Friday’s executions took many Nigerians by surprise. Apart from the scant publicity which preceded the killing of those fellow countrymen, the Nigerian government appeared not to have been so interested in the cases. Now, there is an obvious global outrage over the executions in Indonesia. That country’s government says about 40 of their citizens are daily killed in circumstances surrounding drugs. The international community however, is largely unanimous that executing people for drug crimes is cruel and high-handed.

Amnesty International describes it as a “deplorable act that violates international and Indonesian law.” It calls for a total halt to further executions. The Indonesian government under President Widodo however is unmoved. Says Prasetyo: “Our battle against drug crimes is not over and it will continue. We will maintain our commitment, our firmness and our consistency.”