A teenager named Mustapha Abubakar, who was handed a death sentence by hanging, has made an appeal to Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, for mercy. According to SaharaReporters, the 15-year-old has requested a swift execution from the governor, citing instances of sexual abuse by older inmates and prison staff.
In a letter addressed to the governor, Abubakar, who is detained in Cell 6, Unit 1, Cluster 2 at the Maiduguri Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Borno State, urged the governor to expedite the signing of his death warrant if his plea for clemency is not granted within a reasonable timeframe.
Abubakar received a death sentence at the age of 14 after being enticed into a criminal scheme involving kidnapping for ransom, which resulted in the death of the hostage.
As the youngest inmate at the facility, he is currently on death row along with 81 male and two female inmates. In his letter, he alleged that he has been subjected to sexual exploitation, physical and mental abuse by older inmates and corrupt prison staff. He also mentioned that his religious beliefs prevent him from contemplating suicide, but he expressed his concern about the government’s practice of housing underage boys with older men, which he views as highly irresponsible and prone to negative consequences.
“The juveniles here are like lamb in the midst of wolves,” he said
“Right now, I believe I may have already contracted the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); that can progress to full-blown Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) through unprotected anal sex from a sick inmate who was imposed on me by a prison pimp. This, in itself, would make the second time a death sentence has been given to me.
Through this open letter, I wish to draw the attention of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) to respond as a matter of urgent national interest to what might become an epidemic starting in the Correctional facilities in Nigeria, where sodomy without protection has become rampant.
An inmate here, one Charles Okah, has even advised the authorities to provide condoms to inmates so that those engaged in anal sex secretly can protect themselves instead of pretending that all is normal. The same man also asked the authorities to put a stop to the sharing of sharp objects by inmates and staff alike for shaving, and nail cutting.
There was also nothing stated in my judgment that, during this waiting period, I would be on forced/slave labour in prison. Especially during the groundnut planting season, the inmates are forced to toil in the privately owned plots of farmland the warders have allotted to themselves inside the prison yard. They are made to work under the blazing sun and in the end, harvest crops for free.
There was nowhere in my judgment that says when in the MMSCC, I should be denied medical attention when needed. The only thing dispensed at the infirmary are excuses. This has left the inmates to help themselves through self-medication with disastrous results.
In fact, warders actually buy medicines and give certain inmates to retail and hawk for them when these inmates haven’t been given any formal training on drug prescription. Drug abuse has become commonplace in the center. What is worrisome is that whenever drugs do arrive, staff, who are under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) are the major beneficiaries.”
Abubakar said in his youthful exuberance, he “allowed greed, and sheer stupidity on his part to be lured into a get-rich-quick scheme of kidnapping for ransom in order to buy a power bike. Unfortunately, not only did the plan backfire, he said it led to the untimely death of the hostage, a fellow human being who had medical complications without our knowledge at the time”.
“I am remorseful. Oftentimes, in my quiet time, I reflect over the trajectory my life has taken. While my mates in secondary schools are preparing for exams toward a meaningful future, I am here languishing in prison at the outset of my life, waiting for the hangman’s noose. he said
I feel ashamed of what I have done and sad to have let my family, friends, relatives and country down. Had I followed the right part, perhaps I would have turned out to be a surgeon; a dream I had once nurtured. But I also sense that if given another chance, my deteriorating health permitting, I will turn out to be a wiser and productive citizen. With one stroke of your pen, my derailed life can be back on track.
Your Excellency, I use this medium to plead for clemency within a reasonable time frame. I also plead on behalf of the other inmates on death row who had sent you a letter through the authorities of this centre which was never acknowledged because it probably was not delivered to you in the first place.
Your Excellency, if clemency for me within a reasonable time frame is an absolute impossibility, then I will request your Excellency to please be kind enough to sign my death warrant expeditiously instead of the current trend of a perpetual wait for execution day, coupled with the stress and abuses from the prison warders who still operate with a punitive and repressive mindset.
My judgement was rendered in simple and unequivocal language which I understood clearly. Nothing was stated throughout the reading by the honourable judge that while waiting on death row indefinitely in Maiduguri Maximum Security Custodial Centre, I should be prostituted, and subjected to physical, mental and unprotected sexual abuse from the older inmates and perverted warders. It is only because my religion forbids it, that I have not yet taken my life with my own hands.”
