Nigeria’s Senate has passed a Bill with death penalty for kidnappers and 15 year jail term for anyone who pays ransom to kidnappers to secure the freedom of someone so kidnapped.
The passage of the Bill today, April 27, followed the adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters at plenary.
Presenting the report, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central), said that the bill sought to outlaw the payment of ransom to abductors, kidnappers and terrorists for release of persons who have either been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped.
According to the lawmaker, the overall import of the bill is to discourage the rising spate of kidnapping and abduction for ransom cases in Nigeria, fast spreading across the country.
He said that in the memoranda presented to the committee, plethora of issues relating to the subject matter of terrorism and terrorism financing in line with global best practices were raised.
Senator Bamidele assured that the amendment bill would set standards and regulatory system intended to prevent terrorist groups from laundering money through the banking system and other financial networks.
He said that having policies in place to combat financing of terrorism would either reduce or eliminate privacy and anonymity in financial and other sundry transactions as it related to the subject in the society.
The lawmaker said that the need to comprehensively review the Terrorism Prevention Act arose from the unfavourable ratings of Financial Act Task Force (FATF) recommendations of Nigeria’s Mutual Evaluation Report.
“And the consequent placement of Nigeria in FATF’s International Cooperation and Review Group Process with its impending sanctions on Nigeria’s economy.”
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan said that the bill would complement the Federal Government’s efforts in the fight against insecurity when signed into law by the President.
“It is our belief here in the Senate, that this bill, by the time it is signed into an Act by the President, will enhance the efforts of this government in the fight against terrorism, kidnapping and other associated and related vices.
“This is one piece of legislation that can turn around not only the security situation in Nigeria, but even the economic fortunes of our country.
“We have done so much as a government in terms of infrastructural development across all parts of this country but because security situation is not the kind of situation that we all want, this tends to overshadow all the tremendous and massive developments in our country.
“It is our belief that the Executive will waste no time in signing this bill into law.”
The Senate, thereafter, adjourned plenary until May 10, for Sallah break.
The bill will be debated in the House of Representatives before it is sent to President Buhari for his assent.
