We laud the recent passage of the Bill prescribing life imprisonment for kidnappers by the Senate. The Bill, is an amendment of the Criminal Code Act, 2004, which prescribes 10-year jail sentence for kidnappers. We align with the senators that it has become necessary to review the extant laws on kidnapping to ensure that appropriate punishment is given to the perpetrators. Moreover, kidnapping has, in recent times, led to loss of lives, money and caused trauma to victims and their families.
We also believe that ensuring appropriate punishment for the perpetrators of the heinous crime will likely deter others from doing so in future.
We commend the lawmakers for amending the law on kidnapping. Kidnapping is a heinous crime against humanity, which should not be tolerated in any society. It has also affected negatively the socio-economic development of the country. The general insecurity in the country can be traced to terrorism, banditry and kidnapping. Kidnappers deprive people of their freedom and valuables. It is worrisome that because of kidnapping, many Nigerians now live in perpetual fear as they are not safe on the highways and even in their homes. Rural dwellers are also not spared of the activities of these criminals. They often do not go to their farms for fear of being abducted or killed by kidnappers.
No part of the country is spared of the growing menace. Ore-Benin and Kogi-Abuja-Kaduna highways are often major targets of kidnappers. Their nefarious activities have seriously affected inter-state travels on these routes. On Saturday, July 18, 2020, kidnappers struck on Okene-Lokoja taking the wife and son of late former Edo House of Assembly Speaker, Zakawanu Garuba. They were later freed. Some victims were not that lucky, as they were killed even after their families had paid ransom.
On February 1, 2020, Michael Nnadi, one of the four Catholic seminarians kidnapped earlier in January was reportedly killed by his abductors. In July last year, Funke Olakunrin, daughter of Afenifere leader, Reuben Fasoranti, was killed by kidnappers on Akure-Ore Road. It is worth pointing out that some of the over 270 students of Chibok Girls Secondary School, in Borno State abducted in 2014 by the Boko Haram sect, are still in captivity. The activities of kidnappers are invariably scaring investors away from the country. No investor will like to invest in an insecure environment. Unfortunately, kidnapping has apparently become an industry for easy money by some criminal elements. It has, no doubt, given Nigeria a bad image.
Therefore, it is good that the extant law has been amended with stiffer sanction against the perpetrators of the evil act. We believe that the life jail prescribed for the perpetrators of the crime is in order. The Senate has listened to the cries of Nigerians and passed the Bill. Although the amendment is belated, it is still a commendable effort.
We urge the President to give assent to the Bill. Apart from the expeditious signing of the Bill into law, the government must make sure that it is strictly enforced. The government should go beyond the perpetrators of kidnapping and apprehend their sponsors. Arresting the sponsors of kidnapping is one of the best ways to curb the rising menace. However, this calls for intelligence gathering and sharing among relevant security agencies. Nobody should be above the law.
Since the primary function of the government is to ensure the security of life and property, the Federal Government must ensure the security of all Nigerians. It is gladdening that some States have laws dealing with kidnapping. Section 3(3) of the Lagos State Kidnapping Prohibition Law 2019, punishes kidnapping, where a ransom is demanded, with imprisonment for 25 years. According to Section 2 (2) of the law, the kidnapper is liable to death if the victim dies while in hostage. Similarly, Enugu, Abia, Kogi, Delta, Cross Rivers and other states have varying punishments for persons found guilty of kidnapping. While Rivers State law on kidnapping proffers life sentence for kidnappers, that of Cross River State law prescribes death sentence for the offence.
Although there is nothing wrong in having these laws to check the rising cases of kidnapping in recent times, what is important is strict implementation of the laws against the menace. We believe that rigorous implementation of the laws against kidnapping will reduce the menace and deter people from engaging in the nefarious criminality.