Nigerian drug smugglers executed

Two Nigerians convicted of smuggling illegal drugs were executed Thursday night near the Nusa Kambangan island prison in Cilacap, Central Java, a prosecutor was quoted by Kompas.com news portal as saying. Samuel Okoye, 37, and Hansen Nwaolisa, 40, were arrested at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in 2001, each carrying more than 6.5 pounds (three kilograms) of heroin. They had been held at the high-security prison since their conviction. Earlier in the day, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said the two Nigerians would face a firing squad "tonight". Television footage showed the wives and children of the convicts being escorted to the island, along with ambulances carrying two coffins. --JP