“Free Sunday Jackson” – US Lawmaker advocates for Nigerian Farmer convicted to death for self defense

Riley Moore, a member of the United States House of Representatives, has appealed to the Nigerian government to pardon Sunday Jackson, a man sentenced to death after killing an attacker in what he said was self-defence.

Jackson was said to be working on his farm when a suspected herder, armed with a knife, allegedly tried to attack him.

He reportedly managed to overpower the assailant during the struggle, which led to the herder’s death.

In 2021, an Adamawa high court sentenced Jackson to death, ruling that he could have escaped instead of stabbing the attacker.

The supreme court, on March 7, upheld the high court’s decision.

While speaking on Thursday during a congressional hearing on allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria, Moore referred to sections of the 1999 Constitution that forbid civilians from carrying weapons.

The US lawmaker claimed that authorities often “look the other way” while “Fulani militants” openly carry arms.

“I would urge the Nigerian government to take a look at pardoning Sunday Jackson, who was an individual who was fighting for his own life, defending his life against one of these Fulani militants,” Moore said.

“That Fulani militant lost his life in that struggle, and now that person, Sunday Jackson, is facing the death penalty. Now, where’s the justice in that?

“Where is the justice in that? And all these Fulani militants are breaking Nigerian law.

“Sunday Jackson disarms this person with a knife and protects his own life.”

“He’s going to prison and now faces the death penalty, and Fulani militants are just roaming, bands of them with AK-47s, and that’s no problem.”

Moore urged the federal government to prioritise the safety of citizens and the protection of lives.

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