A/HRC/7/3/Add.4 page 18 C. Capital punishment 61. Noting that capital punishment is still available under the laws of Nigeria, the Special Rapporteur is encouraged by the position of President Obasanjo not to support the death penalty. According to information received from the Government, eight executions have been carried out in Nigeria in the period of March 2002 to July 2006.12 Although the rate of executions may be low, the Special Rapporteur expresses concern that persons continue to be sentenced to death, contributing to the growing numbers of persons languishing on death row for many years (e.g. up to 17 years) in conditions that are inhuman. The Special Rapporteur appeals to the Government to officially declare a moratorium, to commute death sentences to terms of imprisonment and de jure abolish capital punishment. V. FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION 62. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, which was celebrated during the week of the Special Rapporteur’s visit in Nigeria and drew attention to violence against women and girls and the impunity that makes it possible, the Special Rapporteur welcomed the adoption of a number of State laws prohibiting discrimination against women in critical areas, such as female genital mutilation and early marriage. Despite such legislation, however, he remains concerned at the persistence of these practices and the social acceptance of them and the lack of effective mechanisms to enforce the existing prohibitions. VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusions 63. In Nigeria, torture and ill-treatment are widely practised in police custody; they are particularly systemic in the Criminal Investigation Departments (CID). Torture is an intrinsic part of the functioning of the police in Nigeria. This unacceptable state of affairs must end. The Government must take immediate and effective measures to ensure that this message permeates every level of every law enforcement agency in Nigeria. 64. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment is absolute. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two persons personally interviewed by the Special Rapporteur (see paragraphs 44-49 above) - examples of serious torture, disappearance and extrajudicial killing - illustrate and confirm the inability of the current system to effectively investigate allegations, protect victims of serious human rights violations, and bring law enforcement officials in Nigeria to account. 65. The findings of the Special Rapporteur are hardly a revelation as many credible human rights organizations, as well as United Nations human rights mechanisms, as for example the 12 In this period, three persons were executed in Kaduna Prison, Kaduna State, for homicide and armed robbery; one person in Jos Prison, Plateau State, for homicide; and four persons in Enugu Prison, Enugu State, for armed robbery.