From John Adams, Minna
Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has signed into law a bill passed by the state House of Assembly, which makes kidnapping and cattle rustling punishable by hanging.
The law known as Kidnapping and Cattle Rustling (Special Provisions) Law, 2021, is applicable to those who act as informants, aid and abet kidnapping and cattle rustling and will equally die by hanging in the state.
Assenting to this bill and other bills at the Government House, Minna on Friday, the governor said the Kidnapping and Cattle Rustling Special Provisions Law of 2016, is amended to provide for the punishment of informants and all those involved in aiding and abetting kidnapping and cattle rustling in the state.
The governor stated that informants who aid and abet kidnappers would now have to face death sentence by hanging in public, as now enshrined in the state law.
According to him, the law now provides that, “whoever instigates any person to kidnap a person or rustle cattle, or intentionally aids, abets or facilities by any acts of omission or commission of the offence of kidnapping and or cattle rustling is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to death by hanging in public”
Governor Bello said the government is left with no other choice than to embark on this punitive measure given the security challenges that have continued to threaten the peaceful coexistence of the state in particular and the country in general.
He regretted the unpatriotic activities of informants who, according to him, have contributed to thwarting efforts of the security agencies in combating the nefarious activities of kidnappers and cattle rustlers.
Also signed into law is the Vigilante Amendment Law, 2016 which the governor explained was meant to invigorate and strengthen the state vigilante corps for better operational efficiency in the discharge of their statutory function of complementing the effort of the conventional federal security forces.