A Nigerian businessman, Michael Titus Igweh, who is based in Indonesia has lamented the unimaginable torture he was subjected to after the police allegedly forced him to confess to possessing heroin.
Igweh, a cloth importer, who is facing execution in Indonesia, was reportedly sentenced to death for possessing 5.8 kilograms of heroin.
The Nigerian is among several prisoners on death row since 2003, whom lawyers and human rights groups are lobbying to save from the firing squad amid claims they were tortured and their legal cases riddled with corruption, errors and miscarriages of justice, Fairfax Media is reporting.
In his appearance in Tangerang District Court yesterday, Igweh tearfully said police electrocuted his genitals to force him to confess to possessing heroin.
Speaking before Indonesian Attorney-General, Muhammad Prasetyo, the Nigerian said, “I was constantly beaten and my genitals electrocuted until I was helpless.
“In fact, I was threatened to be shot,” Igweh added.
His lawyer, Sitor Situmorang, said Supreme Court judges should try cases based on the law and not to achieve popularity or appear tough.
He said, “Mr. Igweh’s conviction was based on the testimony of two alleged accomplices, Marlena and Izuchukwu Okoloaja, who died in police custody and could therefore not testify in court.
“We believe Marlena and Okoloaja gave Michael’s name just so the police would stop torturing them.
“They were healthy when they were arrested, they had no history of illness, they all just suddenly died while in police custody. We all know what that means,” Igweh’s lawyer told the court.
“We accepted Michael’s (Igweh’s) case because we saw it had merit. Out of the many requests from prisoners on Nusakambangan, we only took this,” Situmorang added.
The Attorney-General, however rejected an application for a case review into the case of Igweh.
He said the Indonesian government insists executions are necessary to combat drugs emergency and that the executions would be ‘soon’ and would include Indonesians and possibly a woman.
“The third wave of executions in Indonesia could be held within days.
“Prisoners from Nigeria and Zimbabwe would be among those targeted. The public want it to be done soon’.
“It is understood the Nigerian and Pakistani embassies have now been notified that their nationals are among those to be killed.
“We are getting more informed now and can see how drugs have affected our younger generation. We could just lose a generation,” Prasetyo stated.
Credit: DailyPost
