Mustapha Abubakar, a 15-year-old boy sentenced to death by hanging, has appealed to the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum for clemency or speedy execution.
Abubakar, in a letter to the governor, lamented that he was being sexually abused by older inmates and warders.
In the letter obtained by SaharaReporters, Abubakar of Cell 6, Unit 1, Cluster 2 at the Maiduguri Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Borno State, northeast Nigeria, urged the governor to sign his death warrant expeditiously if his appeal for clemency would not materialise within a reasonable time frame.
SR reports that Abubakar was sentenced to death by hanging at age 14 after after he was involved in a kidnapping that resulted in the death of a hostage.
Abubakar who is the youngest inmate at the facility is on death row awaiting execution at the facility along with 81 men and two women.
In the video in which he spoke in Hausa, he appealed to the governor for clemency.
He said, “Peace be upon you all. I'm appealing to the governor through this medium.
“I wholeheartedly agree that I committed the crime. I'm pleading with the governor for leniency because I'm the only child of a single parent (mother); my dad is dead. Please, have compassion on me regarding this matter. My father is dead; I only have my mother. I made this video on September 1, 2023.”
In his letter, he lamented being “prostituted, subjected to physical, mental and unprotected sexual abuse from the older inmates and perverted warders”.
According to him, he would have committed suicide if not that his religion forbids it.
He lamented that it “is highly irresponsible of the government to mix underage boys with older men and then not expect anything bad to happen”.
“The juveniles here are like lamb in the midst of wolves,” he said.
Abubakar also said in his letter: “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 from 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 judgement 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 judgement 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.”
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