Indonesia executes four Nigerians, others for drug offences

Indonesian authorities on Tuesday executed four Nigerians and four others for drug-related offences despite pleas by the United Nations, the European Union, Amnesty International and the Federal Government.

The Nigerians were identified as Martin Anderson, 50; Silvester Nwolise, 47; Okwudili Oyatanze, 41, and Jamiu Abashin, 50.

The convicts were reportedly taken to the Nusakambangan Island where they were executed by firing squad on Tuesday evening.

According to a report by the UK Guardian, Abashin was said to be homeless in Bangkok when a new “friend” offered him $400 to take some clothes to Indonesia.

He was nabbed in Surabaya with 5.5kilogrammes of heroin and sentenced to death in 1999.

Abashin was said to have appealed for presidential clemency, claiming he never knew he was carrying the drugs. His plea was rejected.

Nwolise was sentenced to death in 2002 for smuggling a kilogramme of heroin into Indonesia.

Oyatanze was sentenced to death in 2002, after being found guilty of attempting to bring 2.5kg of heroin through Jakarta in capsules inside his stomach.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, had on Monday personally appealed to Indonesia to stop their execution.

The European Union had also berated Indonesia’s plans to execute the convicts.

The EU had noted that the death penalty was not a solution to the rise in drug-related crimes in the country.

The only woman among the convicted, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, a Filipino, was spared in the last minute because a woman who reportedly tricked her into carrying drugs turned herself in.

The remains of the convicted would be taken to Jakarta, the Indonesia capital, on Tuesday according to reports.