Bill seeking death penalty for kidnappers passes second reading in senate

A bill proposing the death penalty for kidnapping passed the second reading in the senate on Wednesday.

Opeyemi Bamidele, senate leader, led the debate on the bill, which is co-sponsored by all 108 senators.

The bill seeks to amend the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

During the debate, Bamidele said the amendment would classify kidnapping, hostage-taking and similar offences as terrorism.

The senate leader said the bill would empower security agencies with stronger operational authority to dismantle kidnapping networks.

“The patterns of organisation, brutality, and destabilisation associated with kidnapping now carry all the characteristics of terrorism,” he said.

“Kidnapping has instilled widespread fear, bankrupted families, disrupted education, and claimed countless innocent lives.”

Bamidele said the bill prescribes the death penalty for perpetrators, financiers, informants, logistics providers and anyone who knowingly supports kidnapping operations.

“Attempt, conspiracy or incitement to kidnap attracts the same penalty,” he said.

He said the measure was necessary “to confront kidnapping at the scale it currently operates”.

Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, supported the bill.

“No more deradicalisation. If you are caught, the penalty is death if convicted,” Oshiomhole said.

Orji Kalu, senator representing Abia north, also backed the legislation, saying, “Nigerians have suffered in the hands of kidnappers. Women have become widows for no reason.”

Abba Moro, minority leader and senator representing Benue south, said the bill reflected a unanimous decision of the senate.

He said kidnapping had become “a business enterprise” that must be stopped.

Victor Umeh, senator representing Anambra central, said kidnappers deserve “no mercy”.

“In some cases, they receive ransom and still kill their victims,” Umeh said.

He also called for accountability on the part of financial institutions, accusing some of them of enabling ransom payments.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the bill to committees on judiciary, human rights and legal matters; national security and intelligence; and interior for a review and report back within two weeks.