A bout a hundred Nigerians awaiting execution in Malaysia over drug-related offences will be spared that harrowing final experience following the proposed abolition of the death penalty by that country’s parliament. Instead of death, they will get long sentences.

Recently, the parliament approved a bill to do away with the death penalty re- placing it instead with long prison terms that will last as long as thirty years or even more than that depending on the discretion of the judges.

This is coming after long years of conflict with international human rights body, Amnesty International (AI) over Malaysia’s draconian laws. The process of reform was initiated in 2020 by Law Minister, Liew Vui Leong who tabled the bill before the Lower House of Parliament.

There has been international outcry about the dispensation of justice especially in drug-related offences by non- Malaysians.

Many of these foreigners awaiting death in jails are Nigerians. In 2019, AI reported that of the 568 non-Malaysians condemned to death, 119 were Nigerians. That rep- resented a staggering 21 per cent. Indonesia followed with 16 per cent, Iran accounted for 15 per cent while Indians made up 10 per cent. One of the Nigerians got lucky in 2021 when the highest court in the land, the Federal Court, quashed his death sentence. Jonas Chihurumanya was condemned to death in 2018 by a High Court in Kuching.

The ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2019. Chihurumanya was alleged to have committed the offence in 2016, within a Jalan Canna car park. The Federal Court was not convinced enough with the prosecution citing inconclusive evidence. Chihurumanya means ‘God loves me’.

Another Nigerian, Emmanuel Chuk- wudulu lost in the battle to save his neck, that same year, 2021. The Federal Court did not con- sider his plea for leniency. The offence was committed in 2012. He was found guilty by a High Court in 2017.

An appeal failed in 2019. Perhaps, Chukwudulu will not be executed after all following moves by the Malaysian Government to relax the law. It is expected that many others like him may also benefit from the reprieve which is expected to improve relations between AI and Malaysia.

It may be good news to the condemned drug traffickers. It is, however, more work for the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) headed by Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd). Relaxed laws in Malaysia may embolden drug barons to recruit more couriers who will be willing to take risks and end up in jail if all fails. Marwa, having served in South Africa as Nigerian High Commissioner, under- stands the burden of being called upon to intervene on behalf of compatriots held in pris- ons for dealing in drugs. We expect him to be streetwise in tackling this menace at home.

The NDLEA should be proactive. It is not enough to parade suspects who were arrested on their way out of the country. Concrete efforts should be made towards identifying those behind the recruitment of couriers. They may be in highbrow neighbourhoods or scanty parts of the inner city. We are not in the best position to advise on strategy and tactics. However, checks should be carried around hotspots like night clubs, bars and motor parks. A lot of meetings and hook ups may be going on using alcohol and parties as cover. The agency should also beef up its intelligence unit.

It is an open secret that schools and higher institutions are turning out some students who know about the trade in drugs. More attention should be paid in that direction. Often we hear stories of suspects claiming that they were forced to carry hard drugs to make ends meet after their shops were demolished or their business nosedived.

Focus, therefore, should be on markets scattered all over the country because drug peddling is part of a larger network that involves trading as cover. Footballers are not left out. When you read about Nigerians traveling to such far flung minnows in soccer like Thai- land, Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia to sign professional deals, it could mean more than meets the eyes. Some training grounds across the states also breed drug-related adventurers. Government must also provide for the citizens.

Unemployment creates a band of risk taking young men and women who will ever be willing to step out of the Nigerian space in search of greener pastures in whatever form. The best way to check them is to create opportunities at home. While we commend Malaysia for quashing the maxi- mum sentence, it calls for reflection here in Nigeria instead of celebrations. There is every reason to condemn the use of hard drugs and the dangerous trade in such substances.

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