A man in Nigeria was sentenced to death through the video conferencing app Zoom. The inhumane ruling sparked condemnation from human rights groups around the world.
Online sentencing
Olalekan Hameed was found guilty of murdering his mother's employer in 2018 at a virtual court hearing on May 4 and he was sentenced to death by hanging.
A judge at a court in Lagos, Nigeria, delivered the ruling to Hameed, who appeared remotely from prison through the Zoom app, along with his lawyer and prosecutors who also joined the hearing remotely, according to justice ministry spokesman Kayode Oyekanmi.
Hameed denied the charge, and remained in prison, Oyekanmi said. The court held the court session through Zoom to comply with the state's social distancing guidelines because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Osai Ojigho, the Amnesty International Nigeria Director, slammed the country's use of the death penalty and he questioned why the hearing couldn't be delayed. Ojigho said that they 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 questioned why the sentencing couldn't be delayed to another time and why the public has access to the session. It is also worth exploring if the processes that led to the virtual sitting followed the principle of natural justice and a fair hearing.
Also Read: Brazilian Government Could Be Using Coronavirus as a Front for Deforestation of Amazon Rainforest
Oyekanmi declined to respond to the criticism of the virtual hearing, the spokeswoman for the Lagos state judiciary also declined to comment. Amnesty International is calling for the death penalty to be abolished in Nigeria, where there are 3,000 people currently on death row.
The state governors in Nigeria have to authorize the executions before they are carried out, but some have refrained from doing so in the past couple of years. Ojigho said that no one wants to be held accountable for ending someone's life, from the pattern that they see. If the government has an internal struggle and is hesitant to sign death warrants, then it is possible to just take the death penalty off the books.
Controversies surrounding Zoom
The Zoom app became popular amid the coronavirus pandemic because it helped people to conduct meetings with numerous people in the comfort of their own homes. However, the app has been tangled in so many controversies because of its poor security features, and because of how carelessly some people use it.
In April, a man hacked the online class of students from Orange County School District. The man exposed himself in front of the children and the teacher who conducted the meeting.
According to the school's principal said that the situation was handled by law enforcement and school administration. The principal also said that they've informed the parents of the impacted students about the incident through telephone.
Because of the incident, teachers are now encouraged to use applications such as Big Blue Button and Canvas for their online classes. The FBI also recommends that schools do not make meetings or classrooms public. They also advised teachers and students to not share the link on social media and to manage the screen sharing options.
