BY Mayowa Tijani
Three Nigerians and five other members of the Bali Nine prisoners being held in Indonesia for drug offences have just been executed on Nusakambangan prison island near Cilacap in Central Java.
Indonesian media say the execution, by firing squad, took place at 00:30 local time, which translates to 6:30pm Nigerian time.
The Nigerians involved were Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise (pictured), Raheem Agbaje Salami and Okwudili Oyatanze.
Five others killed were Indonesian Zainal Abidin, Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, and Ghanaian Martin Anderson.
However, Mary Jane Veloso, the only woman among the nine, was spared at the last hour after a woman reported to have tricked her into the crime turned herself in to the police in the Philippines.
“We’ve carried out the executions,” The Jakarta Post quoted an official of the Attorney-General’s Office (AGO) as saying.
“The executions were carried out at 12:30 a.m.,” Suhendro Putro, funeral director with the Javanese Christian Church (GKJ) in Cilacap, said in a short message service.
Tony Spontana, spokesman of the AGO, said the government had agreed to the final requests fielded by two Australian death-row convicts for their bodies to be flown to Australia for burial.
A Cilacap Police officer said that after the executions, prayers were said for each person according to their respective religions.
“The executions went well, without any disruptions,” he said.
On January 18 when Indonesia carried out its last execution of drug criminals, two Nigerians – Solomon Chibuike Okafor (Alias Namaona Denils) and Daniels Enemuo (Alias Diarrassoube Mamadou) – were among the six killed.
Chan, one of two Australians executed on Tuesday, married his girlfriend at a ceremony at the Nusakambangan Prison Island on Monday – just a day before he was scheduled to face the firing squad.
The 31-year-old married Indonesian pastor Febyanti Herewila, whom he met several years ago when she began counselling inmates at a prison on the resort Island of Bali, where he was held before being transferred to Nusakambangan.
“They have had a celebration inside the prison this afternoon, with close family and friends,” his brother, Michael, said afterwards.
“It was an enjoyable moment. We would just like to celebrate that with him tomorrow as well. It’s tough times, but happy times at the same time. So hopefully the president will still show some compassion, some mercy so these two young people can carry on with their lives.”
Indonesia has strict drug laws that prescribe death penalty for anyone found culpable, regardless of his/her nationality.
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