Today in History: Execution of Barth Owoh and Two Others
On April 10, 1985, Bartholomew Owoh, the younger brother of veteran Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh, along with Bernard Ogedengbe and Lawal Ojuolape, was executed by firing squad at the Kirikiri shooting range in Lagos under the orders of General Buhari.
The trio, aged 26, 29, and 30 respectively, were arrested between April and May 1984 for drug trafficking, an offense that was then bailable and not punishable by death. However, the Buhari regime retroactively applied a death penalty decree to ensure their execution.
Interestingly, all three individuals were southerners, and they were put to death for a crime that did not carry the death penalty at the time they committed it. Despite the absence of a death penalty for drug trafficking when the offense occurred, Buhari, then the military Head of State, enforced their executions, even though the laws in place did not mandate such punishment.
Barth Owoh, in a poignant statement before his execution, said that it was his first involvement in drug trafficking and that he had been led into it by a friend. The tragic case of Barth Owoh and his companions highlights the complexities and controversies surrounding their untimely deaths at the hands of the Nigeria state.
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