EditorThe Senate has passed for second reading a bill proposing life imprisonment for the offence of kidnapping or any form of abduction, wrongful restraint and confinement.
The bill sponsored by Senator Ibikunle Amosun (APC, Ogun Central) seeks to introduce stiffer punishments and punitive measures to combat and prevent kidnapping in Nigeria.
Leading debate on the bill, Senator Amosun noted that kidnapping is a major security challenge confronting Nigeria in recent times, and light punishment for the offence has continued to make it grow and assume horrendous dimensions with a negative impact on the economy.
In his words, “The impact of kidnapping on both economic and daily life has been devastating. For many Nigerians, kidnapping is far more devastating than the carnage of Boko Haram in the northeast, or the carnage in the middle belt over land, pasture and water use between farmers and herders. In the rich oil south-south, kidnapping is often seem as a manifestation of the insurrection over how oil revenue is distributed.”
“Overtime, the pool of potential victims has shockingly been expanded. No, most victims are often poor villagers, sometimes kidnapped indiscriminately, a departure from the targeted kidnapping of wealthy people. They struggle to pay ransoms because of their relative poverty; and this has resulted into many victims being killed in the process”, he added
The lawmaker further highlighted that Nigeria has one of the highest rates of kidnaps for ransom of both locals and foreigners in all of Africa, and insurgents in the North East now thrive on the proceeds of kidnappings
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