Heartbreaking as a Nigerian caught with cannabis, executed by Singapore government

Chijioke Stephen Obioha

It was heartbreaking after a Nigerian by the name Chijioke Obioha, who spent more than 8-years in Singapore prison for drug offense, was finally executed this morning after his appeal was rejected by the appeal court yesterday.

An anti-death penalty campaigner Singaporean, Ravi Mravi on a statement on Facebook after the appeal of Chijioke Obioha was rejected said: "This morning, at 6am, the execution of Chijioke Stephen Obioha took place. I am not even sure if his family from Nigeria were able to attend. Soon it will all be forgotten together with Chijioke's name but for the many of us who fight and campaign to eradicate this barbaric practice of death by hanging, and for those of us who challenge the mandatory for drug trafficking in Singapore, our work will go on, and it must"

According to reports, the Nigerian was arrested in 2007 after he was caught with about 2kg cannabis causing the Singaporean government to sentence Chijioke Obioha with a Mandatory death penalty.

The sentence led Ravi Mravi, a Singaporean anti-death penalty campaigner on drug trafficking to protest and saying the Nigerian's death sentence is the longest since the government implemented the death sentence.

Even with the effort of Joseph Cheng, the lawyer of Chijioke Obioha, to serve an appeal to the court to prevent the execution, all was dashed into the waters and Chijioke was executed.

Now the Ravi Mravi is currently working with a Catholic Community to fight the death penalty by hanging and retrieve the body of the executed Chijioke Stephen Obioha.

Ravi in his words: "I am currently arranging with the Roman Catholic Prison Ministry (RCPM) to claim the body of Chijioke Stephen Obioha from the Singapore Prisons Service for a proper funeral service in accordance with his religious beliefs, the funeral will take place either today or tomorrow depending on how soon the SPS could release the body".