Ambode okays death penalty for kidnappers

Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, has signed into law the anti-kidnapping bill recently passed by the state house of assembly.

The prohibition of the Act of kidnapping law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment on kidnapping for ransom.

It also stipulates that where a victim dies in the course of kidnap, the suspect is liable on conviction to death.

Speaking while signing the bill, Ambode said the spate of abduction in the state had reached a level that require decisive action from government.

He said aside the enactment of the law, the government was also putting in place appropriate measures, particularly in schools and other places where people are vulnerable, to prevent kidnapping and other security breaches.

“Security is of utmost importance to our administration and we are confident that this law will serve as a deterrent to anybody who may desire to engage in this wicked act within the boundaries of Lagos,” he said.

“Why we use this law to address the challenge and punish the criminals, we are also putting in place appropriate measures particularly in our schools and other vulnerable targets to prevent security breaches, and it is important that we ensure that everything we do in respect of this anti-kidnapping law is in good faith and good spirit to eradicate the issue of kidnapping once and for all in the state.”

Ambode added that the justice system would be activated to execute the anti-kidnapping law to the letter.

“Any criminal caught will be subjected to the full wrath of the law,” he said.

The governor also signed the sports trust fund bill and sports commission bill into law, explaining that the laws were enacted to harness the potentials in the sports sector.

Mudashiru Obasa, speaker of the the assembly, said the signing of the bills was a clear testimony of the commitment of the state government to the security of citizens and sports development.

Represented by Sanai Agunbiade, majority leader of the house, Obasa said it was gratifying to note that the anti-kidnapping law was an all-encompassing one.

He explained that it prescribes punishment for the “actual actors, those that collaborate, aid and abet and those who see the act of kidnapping being perpetrated and do nothing about it”.