The Senate on Thursday introduced a bill seeking major amendments to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, barely a day after lawmakers demanded tougher measures to tackle the worsening insecurity across the country.
The bill, sponsored by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), scaled first reading immediately.
It proposes to classify all forms of kidnapping as acts of terrorism and recommends the death penalty for offenders upon conviction.
The move followed a heated debate during Wednesday’s plenary, where senators warned that the rising wave of abductions had reached an alarming level.
Many argued that only the stiffest punishment could curb the menace.
Presiding, Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed Bamidele to bring forward the amendment bill “as soon as practicable,” saying the legislature must act swiftly.
“A very serious amendment has been proposed that the penalty for kidnapping be changed immediately to carry the maximum punishment of death,” Akpabio said.
“Henceforth, kidnapping should first be classified as a terrorist act, which should attract the death penalty. Once the offence is established, a death sentence must follow. There is no discretion,” he added.
Bamidele complied with the instruction and presented the bill on Thursday.
The proposed law expands the definition of terrorism to include any form of kidnapping, making the death sentence mandatory whether or not the victim survives.
Credit: punchng.com
