The Senate has moved against rampant cases of kidnapping in parts of the country as a bill proposing life imprisonment for the offence of kidnapping or any form of abduction, wrongful restraint and confinement passed second reading at the Red Chamber.
This is just as the Senate while passing a bill for the establishment of Nationwide Emergency Communications Service also referred President Muhammadu Buhari’s $4.05 billion loan request to its Committee on Local and Foreign Debts.
The anti-kidnapping bill sponsored by former governor of Ogun state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, seeks to, among others, introduce stiffer punishments and punitive measures to combat and prevent kidnapping in Nigeria.
Leading debate on the bill, Senator Amosun observed that kidnapping is a major security challenge confronting Nigeria in recent times adding that the light punishment for the offence has continued to make it grow and assume horrendous dimensions with a negative impact on the economy.
“In the rich oil South-south, kidnapping is often seen as a manifestation of the insurrection over how oil revenue is distributed.
The ranking Senator lamented that, “Nigeria has one of the rates of kidnaps for ransom of both locals and foreigners in all of Africa.”
Similarly, Amosun quoted an online report of July 13, 2021, which stated 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.
He bemoaned the worrisome development, warning that the trend has the potential of negatively affecting Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investment.
The federal lawmaker stated that the bill, therefore, seeks to introduce stiffer punishment for the offence of abduction, wrongful restraint and confinement for ransom.
