2,285 on death row in Nigeria, says Amnesty Inta��l

Nigeria has 2,285 people on death row and 600 others put to death between 2015 and 2016 in Nigeria, Amnesty International (AI) has said
In its 2017 global review of the death penalty released on Thursday, the global rights body lamented that death sentences had increased drastically in the past two years.
AI said that 171 and 527 death sentences were recorded in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
It claimed that Nigeria imposed the highest number of death sentences in the sub-Saharan Africa in 2017.
The group praised other countries in the continent for making a�?great stridesa�? in the global effort to abolish the death penalty, with a significant decrease in death sentences being imposed.
In the report, Amnesty said that Guinea is the 20th country in sub-Saharan Africa to abolish the death penalty for all crimes, while Kenya abolished the mandatory death penalty for murder.
Burkina Faso and Chad also follow suit to abolish the punishment with new or proposed laws.
AI said: a�?The progress in sub-Saharan Africa reinforced its position as a beacon of hope for abolition. The leadership of countries in this region gives fresh hope that the abolition of the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is within reach. Unfortunately, some states in Nigeria continue to expand the scope of death sentences.a�?
AIa��s Secretary General Salil Shetty said that the number of people on death row in Nigeria is also the highest in the continent, although no executions were carried out in 2017.