Bill Proposing Life Imprisonment For The Offense Of Kidnapping

Leading debate on the bill, Senator Amosun observed that kidnapping is a major security challenge confronting Nigeria in recent times.

A bill proposing life imprisonment for the offense of kidnapping or any form of abduction, wrongful restraint and confinement on Tuesday passed second reading in the Senate.

The bill sponsored by Senator Ibikunle Amosun (APC, Ogun Central) seeks to, among others, introduce stiffer punishments and punitive measures to combat and prevent kidnapping in Nigeria.

According to the lawmaker, the light punishment for the offense has continued to make it grow and assume horrendous dimensions with a negative impact on the economy.

“The impact of kidnapping on both economic and daily life has been devastating.

“For many Nigerians, kidnapping is far more devastating than the carnage of Boko Haram in the northeast, or the carnage in the middle belt over land, pasture and water use between farmers and herders.

“In the rich oil south-south, kidnapping is often seem as a manifestation of the insurrection over how oil revenue is distributed.

“Overtime, the pool of potential victims has shockingly been expanded. No, most victims are often poor villagers, sometimes kidnapped indiscriminately, a departure from the targeted kidnapping of wealthy people. They struggle to pay ransoms because of their relative poverty; and this has resulted into many victims being killed in the process”, he said.

Amosun lamented that, “Nigeria has one of the rates of kidnaps for ransom of both locals and foreigners in all of Africa.”

He added, “while the insurgents in the Northeast now thrive on the proceeds of kidnappings, criminal elements in the South East and South West are also having a field day. In fact, kidnapping has now become a big and lucrative business.”

Citing recent statistics released by Neil Young Associates International – a specialist crisis prevention and response consultancy group – the lawmaker noted that Nigeria accounted for 26 percent of kidnapping and ransom incidents globally.

Similarly, Amosun said that a Vanguard report published online on the July 13, 2021, states that an average of 13 persons were abducted daily in Nigeria in the first half of 2021, bringing to 2,371 the number of reported persons kidnapped in the country within the first six months of the year.