Indonesia asks Nigeria embassy to visit its citizens who are to be executed soon

Indonesia has given a group of death row inmates 72 hours' notice before they face the firing squad. Authorities have been making preparations, with death row drug convicts transferred to the Nusakambangan prison island where Indonesia puts convicts to death.

Among the 14 prisoners are listed for execution, four are Nigerians, including Humphrey Ejike Jefferson and Michael Tutus Igwe.

Lawyers of some of the inmates have told ABC their clients may seek last-minute clemency from President Joko Widodo, meaning their executions could be delayed. 

The Nigerian embassy was told to visit the Nigerian nationals in Cilacap on July 25 as they could be executed in a few days, Samantha Hawley for ABC Jakarta tweetes.

Despite widespread international condemnation from Diplomats and rights groups, President Widodo is determined to push ahead with the execution, insisting Jakarta is fighting a war against drugs and traffickers must be harshly punished.

The country's Attorney-General's office, which oversees executions, would not confirm any details but spokesman Mohammad Rum said: "The time is approaching."

In a statement, Amnesty International urged "the country's authorities to halt all executions and to take immediate steps to ensure that the cases of all those under sentence of death are reviewed by an independent and impartial body". 

There have also been concerns over the case of a female Indonesian drug convict, Merri Utami, who is among the group. Rights group the National Commission on Violence Against Women said the former domestic worker was tricked into trafficking heroin.

Authorities have been making preparations, with death row drug convicts transferred to Nusakambangan prison island, where Indonesia puts convicts to death, and 14 prisoners reportedly placed in isolation — a usual step before executions.

About 1,500 police were being deployed around Cilacap, the town closest to Nusakambangan, visitors have been barred for a week and Muslim and Christian spiritual counsellors were seen crossing to the island.

Source: AP/ABC