Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Nigerian Drug Trafficker Killed By Firing Squad On Death Island In Indonesia
- 28/04/2015 17:07:00
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Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise
- The eight were Indonesian Zainal Abidin, Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte,
- Nigerians Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Raheem Agbaje Salami and Okwudili Oyatanze,
- Ghanaian Martin Anderson.
Reformed Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were killed by an Indonesian firing squad shortly after midnight Wednesday local time, local media is reporting.
The Jakarta Post reported Chan, Sukumaran and six other prisoners were taken to a jungle clearing on the island Nusakambangan.
There, they were shot dead by firing squads comprising 12 police privates armed with rifles at 12:25am local time (3:25am AEST).
A law enforcement official was quoted saying: 'The executions went well, without any disruptions.'
In following through with the killings, the Indonesian government ignored agonised pleas for clemency from the prisoners' families and Australian and international officials.
Sukumaran had pledged to face the firing squad with ‘strength and dignity’ and was planning to go without a blindfold. The pair's last meal were buckets of KFC.
There are reports Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso - the Filipino drug mule who was the ninth convict sentenced to death - was spared after new information emerged about her case.
An apparent Sukumaran family member took to Twitter to grieve for his lost relative.
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Rest in peace: Reformed drug smugglers Andrew Chan (left) and Myuran Sukumaran (right) were put to death at 3:25am Australian Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday morning
Execution ground: Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were killed at this clearing at Nusakambangan
Myuran Sukumaran, known affectionately as Myu, and Andrew Chan had become an accomplished artist and an ordained pastor respectively, following extensive rehabilitation programs in Indonesian prisons
Emotional scenes: As news filtered through to the nearby port of Cilacap, supporters prayed and sung Amazing Grace
Supporters pray: At nearby Cilacap port, anti-death penalty protesters began playing the song Hallelujah just prior to news of his death
Distraught scenes: Bali Nine supporters comfort each other at Cilacap
'To my cousin Myu... I love you more than you can imagine,' he wrote. 'Your legacy will live on. I promise. Save me a place in heaven. #Bali9
'Thank you all means the world to know all you beautiful people support my family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Real talk.'
One of the lawyers for the Bali Nine, Todung Mulya Lubis, tweeted: 'I failed. I lost.
'I am sorry'.
Later, a silence fell over the area with only singing voices, music of Amazing Grace and prayers heard for the doomed Bali Nine duo.
Hundreds of people gathered near the gate to pay their respects to the convicted drug smugglers or see if they could catch any hint of the executions taking place just kilometres away.
The Australian duo were accompanied by their nominated spiritual advisers in some of their final moments.
It is understood they did not witness the execution.
Daily Mail Australia has been told the grim task officially informing the families will fall to Australia’s Consul-General, Majell Hind.
Myuran Sukumaran's grief-stricken mother, Raji, pleads for her son's life as her husband Sam looks on
Raji and Sam Sukumaran try to come to terms with their grief on the worst day of their lives
A local television station broadcast a chilling re-enactment of how executions are carried out in Indonesi
Firing squad: An Indonesian mobile brigade police team, believed to be an execution team, were photographed being taken on a boat to Nusakambangan island
An Australian representative will accompany the bodies as they are taken by road to Jakarta later on Wednesday.
The execution brings to an end almost ten years imprisonment for the drug smugglers. Both were famously rehabilitated in Kerokoban Prison.
Sukumaran is now an accomplished artist, whereas Chan, an ordained pastor.
The Australian government is expected to retaliate for the executions, which Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had long lobbied against.
Even in the final hours, officials were fighting the death penalty ruling.
The Australian, French and EU governments released a statement saying bluntly: 'It is not too late to change your mind'
'We fully respect the sovereignty of Indonesia. But we are against the death penalty in our country and abroad.
'The execution will not give deterrent effect to drug trafficking or stop the other from becoming victims will abuse drugs.
'To execute these prisoners now will not achieve anything.'
Ms Bishop warned of 'consequences' on Tuesday evening, but would not name them.
President Joko Widodo holds a meeting following a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday. He gave no sign that there would be any late reprieve for the Bali Nine pair
Indonesian Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo confirmed on Tuesday that the pair will be executed at midnight local time
Sukumaran's brother Chinthu and sister Brintha also pleaded for their brother's life
Brintha Sukumaran (centre), Myuran’s sister, begged: 'Please don’t take my brother from me'
Andrew Chan's brother Michael said the ordeal was something 'no family should go through'
The Indonesian mobile brigade police team get closer to 'Death Island' on Tuesday evening, and it is reported they will carry out the execution
President Joko Widodo talks on his mobile phone at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. He reportedly told the Indonesian Attorney General to 'proceed according to the rules' regarding the executions
Indonesian police stand guard Besi Prison on Nusakambangan island on Tuesday night as the clock ticks closer to the execution of the Bali Nine
Andrew Chan's mother Helen was with other family members who spoke to the press at a hotel in Cilicap
Sukumaran's final paintings: A heart dripping with blood is carried by one of the Bali Nine duo's lawyers
A man carries a painting by Myuran Sukumaran on Tuesday, which has been signed by all nine death row inmates. The artist signature reads 'satu hati, satu rasa di dalam cinta' (one heart, one feeling in love)
Two other paintings by Myuran Sukumaran are shown to the media on Tuesday in Cilacap, Indonesia
Sukuraman's sister, Brintha, is supported as she is escorted through the crowd on Tuesday towards the port gates
Sukuraman's mother Raji (centre) cries as she arrives at the port authority office on Tuesday at Cilacap for a last visit with her son
Family members and supporters make their way through the crowd on Tuesday as they prepare to visit the men for the last time
Michael Chan (centre, in green) brother of Andrew Chan, makes his way through the media to the port authority office before travelling to Nusakambangan Island
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