Lagos Assembly okays death for kidnappers

Sesan Olufowobi

The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed the bill seeking to check kidnapping in the state with stiff penalties, including death sentence for convicts

convicts.

The Assembly on Thursday passed the bill – Bill for a Law to Provide for the Prohibition of the Act of Kidnapping and other Connected Purposes – after the third reading.

The bill was passed after it was presented on the floor of the House by the Chairman Committee on Judiciary, Funmilayo Tejuosho, who stated that the bill was to further expand the scope of the existing kidnapping law to accommodate new challenges and ultimately curb the menace.

Sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, the bill prescribed death sentence for kidnappers whose victims died in their custody and life sentence for kidnappers whose victims came out alive.

Attempt to kidnap is also criminalised under the bill, which stipulates that such a person will be committed to life imprisonment.

The bill states that any person who kidnaps, abducts, detains, captures or takes another person by any means or trick, with  intent to demand ransom or do anything  against the victim’s will, commits an offence

The Speaker, who read the sections of the bill one after another for members’ approval, conducted a voice vote before its passage.

Obasa directed the acting Clerk of the House, Mr. Azeez Sanni, to forward a clean copy of the bill to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for assent.