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General News of Thursday, 20 May 2021

Source: punchng.com

Senate considers bill criminalising ransom, proposes 15-year imprisonment

The Senate The Senate

The Senate on Wednesday considered a bill that seeks to prohibit the payment and receipt of ransom for the release of any person kidnapped, imprisoned or wrongfully confined.

Tagged ‘The Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2021'; the proposed legislation sponsored by Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi scaled second reading during plenary on Wednesday.

Leading the debate on the bill, the lawmaker said the piece of legislation would seek to amend the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2013 to outlaw the payment of ransom to abductors, kidnappers and terrorists for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped.

Onyewuchi said the bill essentially aimed at substituting section 14 of the Principal Act to read: “Anyone who transfers funds, makes payment or colludes with an abductor, kidnapper or terrorist to receive any ransom for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped is guilty of a felony and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years.”

He raised the alarm that kidnapping has become a fast and lucrative business, adding that, “it has now remained the most virulent form of banditry in Nigeria and the most pervasive and intractable violent crime in the country.”

Onyewuchi attributed the spate of kidnappings in the country to factors such as corruption, unemployment, poverty and connivance of security agents.He lamented that the frequency at which persons were kidnapped daily put most Nigerians at risk.

He said, “Kidnapping is on the increase in Nigeria and it is prevalent across all the geopolitical zones.

“Some blame the rise of this criminal activity on poverty, religion, politics, deficiency of existing laws, unemployment, connivance of security agents, corruption, and greed among others.

“Our unemployed youths are also turning to kidnapping to get money (ransom) as a survival strategy.

“Whatever the reason, it is most obvious that kidnapping in Nigeria puts everyone at risk; the rich and the poor, old and young, male and female, foreigner or indigene, expatriate or non-expatriate, traditional rulers and religious leaders, among others,” he said.