A human rights activist Chief Malcolm Omirhobo has called for the death penalty for government officials who embezzle public funds.
The radical lawyer made the call during an exclusive interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on 90 MinutesAfrica on Sunday.
“I am a proponent of the death sentence. These people should be tied to the stake and shot. They don’t deserve to live. Corruption kills. Nigerians are wasting away due to corruption,” he said.
Mr. Omirhobo became an instant internet sensation when he attended a Supreme Court proceeding dressed in the attire of a traditional African religious worshipper. He said he was motivated to appear in a traditional worshipper attire because he believes that the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the rights of Muslim female students to wear hijab to school also means that adherents of other religions, including African traditional religion, also have a right to wear their attire to official functions.
Speaking on the revelations of massive fraud in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by the special investigative panel, the lawyer asked how monies that should be used to improve the lives of Nigerians would be pocketed by few individuals. He argued that “it is only the death sentence that can deter corruption” in the country.
He said the Nigerian system has not evolved enough to abolish the death sentence. “That is the only way that people will sit up,” he argued.
He alleged that many Nigerian leaders, both past and present, cannot account for their wealth. “Who was Akpabio or Wike before 1999?” the radical lawyer queried. “But today, they move around with stupendous wealth.”
