Oshiomhole signs death penalty law for kidnapping

GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, on Friday, signed the state’s “Kidnapping Prohibition Law 2009” as amended by the Edo State House of Assembly into law.

The law prescribes death penalty on kidnappers in the state.

Appending his signature to the bill on Friday, the governor said, “as reluctant as one would want to be in matters of life and death, I am convinced that the overriding public interest now dictates that we invoke the maximum penalty available in our law  to all those involved in the act of kidnapping.
Anyone sentenced and convicted, I will sign the death warrant.

“But criminals have a choice to abstain from criminality, kidnapping and killing so that they in turn can live and enjoy the good things of life,” he added.

Governor Oshiomhole pointed out that those who argued that the problem of kidnapping stems from unemployment should not simplify a very complex issue, saying that kidnappers do not respect state, national or international boundaries.

He assured the people of Edo State that everything was being done to ensure that security agencies put in place comprehensive network that would ensure effective policing of the security flash points across the state.

“I am convinced that all of us in the three arms of government have a responsibility to make laws and enforce those laws in a way that will send signals to those involved in various acts of criminality, be they kidnappers, murderers, rapists and whoever they may be, that security agencies are now more than ever before, ready to ensure that Edo is  too hot for criminals to operate.

“I am aware from reports of those who have been arrested that the overwhelming majority of these criminals are migrant criminals who come from neighbouring states and sometimes from far away states to perpetrate various crimes in Edo state and escaped back to their states across the country,” he said.
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