A man was sentenced to death via video conferencing in Nigeria
A judge at a court in Lagos delivered the ruling to Hameed, who appeared remotely from prison via Zoom, along with his lawyer and prosecutors who also joined the hearing remotely
Condemnation has sparked in Nigeria after a man was sentenced to death via Zoom, the popular video conferencing app on May 4.
Human rights groups are calling this ruling as "inhumane", reports CNN.
At a virtual court hearing on Monday, Olalekan Hameed was found guilty of murdering his mother's employer in 2018 and was sentenced to death by hanging.
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A judge at a court in Lagos delivered the ruling to Hameed, who appeared remotely from prison via Zoom, along with his lawyer and prosecutors who also joined the hearing remotely.
Hameed, who denied the charge, remains in prison, Oyekanmi said. But the suspect and his lawyer was unable to reach for any comment.
The court held the session via Zoom to comply with the state's social distancing guidelines to curb coronavirus.
Amnesty International Nigeria Director Osai Ojigho slammed the country's use of the death penalty and questioned why this hearing couldn't be delayed.
"We know many courts are exploring how they can continue cases virtually, but the challenge is how much thought has been given to the process for virtual court sittings," Ojigho said. "In this case, could this sentencing not be delayed to another time?"
"Can we say justice was seen to be done in this case, did the public have access to this session? It's worth exploring if the processes that led to the virtual sitting followed the principle of natural justice and a fair hearing."
Oyekanmi declined to respond to criticism of the hearing, as did a spokeswoman for the Lagos state judiciary.
Amnesty International is calling for the the death penalty to be abolished in Nigeria, where there are nearly 3,000 people on death row, according to Ojigho.
State governors in Nigeria have to authorize executions before they're carried out, but some have refrained from doing so in recent years, Ojigho said.
"No one wants to be held [accountable] for ending someone's life, from the pattern we see. If the government has an internal struggle and is hesitant to sign death warrants, why don't we take it off the books?" Ojigho said.
