The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to grant pardon to Sunday Jackson a farmer from Adamawa State, who was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court’s ruling for what he claimed was an act of self-defence.
The Supreme Court in Friday, 7th March 2025, upheld the death sentence of Jackson, a farmer in his 30’s, for killing a fulani herdsman, Ardo Bawuro during an altercation on Jackson’s farmland.
The appeal was contained in a Communiqué issued at the end of the First Plenary Meeting of the CBCN on Thursday in Abuja, and signed by CBCN President and Archbishop of Owerri +Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, and Secretary as well as Bishop of Uromi, +Donatus Ogun, after the Bishops prayerfully deliberated on issues affecting the Church and the Nigerian State.
The Communique partly reads: “We reaffirm the stand of the Catholic Church that capital punishment is unacceptable (CCC2267), we therefore make a passionate appeal to the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu especially in the light of the Jubilee Year of Hope, to grant pardon to Mr Sunday Jackson whose conviction was recently upheld by the Supreme Court.”
Giving some insights for national growth, the Bishops urged the Federal government to improve the welfare of security operatives, adopt the use of high technology in combatting the worsening insecurity in the country as done in other climes.
“For the provision of security of life and property in our nation, we urge that governments at all levels deploy high technology, like is already done in some states, to complement the efforts of security agencies for efficient intelligence gathering.
“There is also need for good remuneration for security personnel, better equipping of our security outfits and determination to prosecute crime without fear or favour.”
The Bishops also called on government at all levels to create an enabling environment for job opportunities as they stated that “more investment is needed in agriculture to facilitate the involvement of the youth in it and boost provision of food in a sustainable manner.
“With improved security and safety for farmers, there will be greater production of food and reduction in the escalated cost of food all over Nigeria.
Also, the Bishops urged Nigerians irrespective of status and affiliations, to always pursue actions that make for unity and national integration.
“Again, we request our political, religious and traditional leaders to promote the spirit of national integration in the citizenry in order to instill hope and development. We demand that those governments that ordered the closure of all schools in some parts of the country, withdraw such order in the light of the rights of the children to education and the multi-religious nature of our society.
“We, as Church, promote integral education, health care and agriculture for individual and national development, and we require the enabling environment to play these roles among others.
“Despite disappointments in the conduct of 2023 General Elections, we still encourage all eligible citizens to come out en masse and participate in future elections. We call for a strengthening of electoral laws and sincere execution of duties by state agents such as Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies and the courts in order to restore trust in the electoral system. We urge our people to refuse to be cowed to silence and helplessness, but rather insist always on doing the right thing and having it done.”
On the poor state of the Nigerian Correctional Service the Bishops urged government to uphold fundamental rights of inmates, treat them with dignity, adopt non -custodial measures in deserving cases, expedite the dispensation of justice, decongest the existing correctional centres by granting parole to well-behaved minor offenders, as well as see to the rehabilitation of the existing facilities, and construct new correctional centres to ease overcrowding.
The Bishops however commended the government for the reinvigoration “of the Petroleum Industry, the rehabilitation of some dilapidated roads and the construction of new ones across the nation, the introduction of the student loan scheme, the new minimum wage, and the reduction in the debt service-to-revenue ratio and the proposal for new tax regime.”
They called on Nigerians to see the Lenten and Ramadan season as an opportunity to better embrace the virtue of hope, an invitation to repentance of sins and misdeeds against ourselves, the Church and the Country.
“It calls us to purge ourselves of our cynicism against the possibility of a better Nigeria. By this we are enabled to spread the light within the various segments of the society.”
