Clement Adeyi, Osogbo
Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, has said that the Osun Kidnapping and Other Related Crimes (prohibition) Bill 2020 would compliment the efforts of the Amotekun corps when the security outfit is fully inaugurated.
Owoeye who stated this on Tuesday during a public hearing on the bill, declared that it had become imperative to have an enabling law that would ensure quick and diligent prosecution of kidnapping offenders.
The speaker pointed out that since the Amotekun initiative, cases of kidnapping in Osun and other South Western states had reduced.
He held that the 7th Assembly under his watch was reviewing the existing laws on kidnapping and recommended 14 years which would, however, be reviewed to death penalty.
He added that should the bill scale through the needed stages, people caught with human parts and kidnappers whose victims die in the process of kidnap, would face a death sentence as against imprisonment that was obtainable before now.
Owoeye insisted that following the rising spate of kidnapping laws with severe consequences must be put in place to avoid many Nigerians becoming kidnapping targets.
“Ever since the issue of Amotekun came up, I have noticed a downward spiral of kidnapping in Osun and other southwest states. However, I am more afraid of the surge in ritual related cases,” he said.
“The whole country was saddened at the gruesome murder and the dismembering of a 23-year-old Favour Oladele, a 400-Level Lagos State University (LASU) student for money ritual purposes. We as Osunites are more embittered that the killing took place in Ikoyi town, our own soil,” he added.
“We as parents and community leaders must begin to re-orientate our young ones on this prevailing get-rich-quick syndrome. There is no shortcut to success. The only road I know of is preparation, hard work, patience and perseverance.”
The Chairman of Osun Civil Society Coalition, Comrade Waheed Lawal called on governments at all levels to re-double their efforts in making job available for employable youths, stating that it would go a long way reducing the crime rate in the country.
Police Community Relations Committee Chairman in Osun, Comrade Amitolu Shittu commended the 7th Assembly for championing the crusade to bring sanity to society.
Shittu opined that the bill should include that any kidnapper found guilty of female sexual assault and harassment should be jailed for 50 years.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) women leader, Alhaja Kudirat Fakokunde admonished parents to ensure proper monitoring of their children and wards as a part of campaigns against kidnapping and other criminal tendencies.