We, the comrades of Unit 1012, send our thanks and our utmost respect to
Adams Oshiomhole, the Governor of Edo State, Nigeria,
who signed into law a bill prescribing the death
penalty for convicted kidnappers in the state on October 18, 2013. On July 4
that year, he courageously
spoke out in defense of the death penalty at the second annual seminar on the
“Role of Public Complaints Commission in a democratic Nigeria’ organized by the
Public Complaint Commission, in Abuja on July 4, 2013.
We believe that Chief Justice Rayner Goddard would be proud of
this Governor if he was alive today. Like Goddard, Oshiomhole showed his love
and care for the victims and their grieving families. God bless you! You
deserve the Rayner Goddard Acts of Courage Award.
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Adams Oshiomhole
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INTERNET
SOURCE: http://premiumtimesng.com/news/146835-oshiomhole-signs-new-law-imposing-death-penalty-kidnappers-edo.html
Oshiomhole signs new law imposing death penalty for kidnappers in Edo
Posted By Nnenna
Ibeh On October 18, 2013 @ 18:29 In National,News
The law applies to all stages of kidnap
The Edo
State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday signed into law a bill prescribing
the death penalty for convicted kidnappers in the state.
The law,
which is an amendment of a previous one, also states that any premises where
victims of kidnapping were held would be demolished.
Declaring
that the penalty applies to all stages of kidnapping, Mr. Oshiomhole
[1] said whether the victim dies in captivity, in the process of
being kidnapped, or while being rescued, the penalty remains the same.
He called
on Edo State youth to desist from all forms criminality as an excuse for
unemployment and appealed to parents and guardians to be aware of the
activities of their wards.
He assured
residents of the state that no special tribunals would be set up to try cases
of kidnapping in order to relieve concerns over the slow judicial process in
Nigeria.
Kidnapping
has been on the rise in Edo and many other states in Nigeria. One of the most
recent was the
kidnap of radical lawyer, Mike Ozekhome. [2]
Apart from
Edo, Bayelsa State also has a law imposing death penalty for kidnappers.
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://leadershipeditors.com/news/191013/kidnappers-face-death-penalty-edo-oshiomhole
Kidnappers To Face Death Penalty In Edo – Oshiomhole
By: Patrick
Ochoga on October 19, 2013 - 4:34am
Disturbed
by the spate of kidnappings in Edo State, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday
signed the Kidnapping Prohibition Law as amended into law. It prescribed the
death penalty for kidnappers.
At the
signing of the law, the governor said the state government would do everything
within its powers to ensure the safety of life and property in the state.
According
to him, “I have just signed into law a bill amending
the Kidnapping Provision Law 2009 as amended by the state House of Assembly
which now prescribes death penalty for anyone who is involved in any form of
kidnapping.
“We
have had enough laws in our statute books that provide for various degrees of
punishment for various offences. I think the real challenge is about law
enforcement and dealing with the problem of impunity. Laws will be worthless if
we do not have the capacity to apprehend, interrogate, persecute and
interrogate criminals and invoke the full weight of the law.
“I
am convinced that within the three arms of government of the legislative, the
Judiciary and the Executive, we have a responsibility to make laws and enforce
those laws in a way that would send clear signals to those involved in acts of
criminality whether they are kidnappers, armed robbers, rapists that the
security agencies now much more determined than ever before to ensure that this
state becomes too hot for criminals to operate”, he said.
He assured
the people that government is doing everything to make the state uncomfortable
for criminals.
Nigeria:
Oshiomhole, Kidnappers and the Death Penalty
By Ebomhiana Musa, 4 November 2013
Ebomhiana Musa writes that by signing the
death penalty for kidnappers and robbers, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo
State has shown leadership
At exactly 2.50 pm on Friday, October
18, in the year of the Lord 2013, a tough decision was taken in Edo State as
the Governor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, signed into law a bill passed by
the state House of Assembly which prescribes death penalty for kidnapping of
any form. The law, otherwise known as the Edo State Kidnapping Prohibition Law
2009 (as amended), also prescribes for the demolition of any property
(house/hotel) used by the kidnappers as their operational base to keep their
victims.
A drastic ailment, they say, requires
a drastic treatment. This was probably why Edo state government had to do
something drastic by prescribing capital punishment for those found guilty of
kidnapping. Kidnapping of persons in the state has become so embarrassing to
the extent that it seems like a major alternative source of cheap money for the
jobless criminally-minded ones. It also made it look as if there were no
security agencies in the state. The kidnappers have become so daring to the
extent that it was no longer safe to move on the streets in Benin metropolis
let alone intercity movements.
The government had to rekindle
confidence in the people of its ability to protect lives and property in the
state and that it's not just in government, it's in power with the strong
political will to check crimes and criminality so that the citizens can move
around freely and go to bed with their eyes closed. The governor made it
crystal clear that he would not hesitate to sign the execution warrant of any
kidnapper tried and convicted by the court of law.
Hear him: "I
want to assure the good people of Edo State that government is concerned about
the state of kidnapping. We share the pains, the agony and trauma which victims
of kidnap are all subjected to, but I assure our people that everything is
being done to keep these criminals in check." Edo is the second of
the 36 states of the federation to sign a law prescribing capital punishment
for kidnapping, coming after Rivers State under Rotimi Amaechi. Delta State
House of Assembly passed similar law, unfortunately, the bill is gathering dust
on the table of the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, apparently lacking
the political will to sign it into law. Yet, the people of Delta state groan
daily under the terror of kidnappers.
Without mincing words, I believe
Comrade Oshiomhole deserves applause for his uncommon courage and guts to dare
these hoodlums by appending his signature to the law passed by the state House
of Assembly. That is part of the hallmark of leadership, the ability and
political will to take decision in the common good of the majority, no matter
how unpalatable it may be to the minority in certain quarters.
Oshiomhole has bluntly refused to give
a dime as ransom to kidnappers in the state. Severally, government
functionaries and his political party officials had fallen into the hands of
kidnappers in the state. He refused to yield to pressure to use government
money as ransom for their freedom. I hear some state governments in the Niger
Delta region set aside some money in the region of 20 million naira from their
monthly security vote to appease these hoodlums called kidnappers.
But the Comrade Governor has rebuffed
them and refused to be part of the dirty deal. He chose to give them stone for
bread. What a rare courage! For this, I beg to vote him my Man of The Year
2013. It would be recalled that the coalition of civil societies in Nigeria,
the Amnesty International and other holier than thou foreign bodies were
raising dust earlier in the year when Oshiomhole set aside all sentiments and
dared to sign the death warrant of some armed robbers who robbed, raped and
killed their victims in the state. He also scored a first in that regard as one
of the governor of the 36 in the federation to sign the death warrant of
robbers tried and condemned by competent court of law.
He however gave reprieve to those who
robbed with violence but did not kill their victims by commuting their
sentences to life jail. Not just that, in furtherance exercising his powers of
prerogative of mercy, he freed one of the condemned robbers and directed that
he be given some money to set up business of his choice. This is to prove the
point that Oshiomhole is not one who delights in shedding blood through the
instrumentality of government.
This assertion is supported with what
he was quoted to have said while signing into law, the anti-kidnapping bill. "Having signed into law the death penalty, let me
assure the good people of Edo State that as reluctant as one wants to be in
matter of life and death, I am convinced that the overriding public interest
dictates that we invoke the maximum penalty available in our law on those
involved in the act of kidnapping."
Recently, the Chief Justice of the
Federation had cause to cry out that the nation's prisons were brimming with
criminals; apparently, a good number of them are condemned criminals awaiting
the hangman. Again, unfortunately though, it boils down to the fact that the
state governors are shying away from their responsibility of signing the death
warrants brought before them.
It is therefore not surprising that
cases of jailbreak are now common occurrences across the states leaving in
their trails deaths and maiming of hapless prisons' officials who dare to show
some form of bravery. These hardened criminals will feed fat on government's
lean resources, break loose, with all the energy in them and unleash mayhem on
the society with vexation. In some cases, they go straight for the jugular of
the IPO/prosecuting counsel and the trial judge(s).
It is therefore in this light that all
well meaning and peace loving Nigerians should salute this rare courage
displayed by Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. As the society is
becoming more complex and the criminals are devising more sophisticated means
of carrying out their criminality, Nigeria needs leaders with strong character,
guts and uncommon courage in taking decisions, especially in the common good of
the majority. This is food for thought as we approach the year 2015.
Musa is a public affairs commentator
based in Auchi, Edo State
INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/bad-days-ahead-kidnappers-100-face-death-penalty-edo/
Bad days ahead for kidnappers: 100 face death penalty in Edo
on November
10, 2013 / in Crime Guard 8:15 am / Comments
By Simon
Ebegbulem, Benin-City
OVER one
hundred suspected kidnappers face the death sentence in Edo State following the
signing into law of the state kidnapping law by Governor Adams Oshiomhole.
Kidnapping in the state became worrisome after hoodlums descended on the
state to a level that even teachers were being kidnapped for ransom. Lagos
lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, a Benin High Court Judge, Justice Daniel
Okungbowa, a chieftain of the APC, Athanacious Ugbome, were among those who
suffered from the kidnappers onslaught along the Auchi-Abuja road, in Edo
State.
It was
later learnt that most of the evil perpetrated along that road was executed by
a gang led by a kidnap kingpin, Kelvin Oniarah Eziegbe, who is currently facing
trial in Abuja. Ordinarily, Oshiomhole believes very strongly in the
sanctity of life but on 18 October, shortly after one of the bloody kidnap
operations, the governor had no choice than to exercise his constitutional
powers as governor, by signing into law the Kidnap Prohibition Law as amended
by the state House of Assembly.
On that
fateful day, Oshiomhole was in his office attending to state issues, when the
news filtered in that those attending Esan Professionals Conference, scheduled
for Uromi, were kidnapped while one was killed almost at the spot where
Ozekhome was kidnapped.
Sunday
Vanguard learnt that the suspected kidnappers, who reportedly wore police
uniforms with bullet proof vests, stopped the victims and informed them that
they were under arrest. They were said to have ordered Mrs Ekhomu and her
children to a vehicle while the chief executive officer of Thomas White Plc.
Mr. Emmanuel Obiyan, and Dr Ekhomu, a security expert, were pushed to another
vehicle.
The
kidnappers headed towards Sapele. Sunday Vanguard learnt however that on
realizing that their captors were kidnappers and not policemen after he
inquired about the police station they were being taken to, Dr Ekhomu held one
of the kidnappers with a gun and there was a fight. In the process, Dr. Ekhomu
suffered a gunshot on his hand but he managed to escape through the bush.
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*Suspected kidnappers
|
Apparently angered by the Ekhomu resistance, the
kidnappers rained bullets on Obiyan and abandoned his body. The gang that held
Mrs. Ekhomu and her children ran into trouble when men of the Joint Task
Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta intercepted them around Sapele and rescued them.
The body of Obiyan was deposited at the Irrua Specialist Hospital. The sad
incident occurred on Thursday, 17 October.
Oshiomhole, visibly angry, came to office at about
7:30am the following day, and called for the amended kidnap law file. While
this was going on, appeal came to the state government to flood the Auchi-Abuja
road with soldiers. Oshiomhole was particularly touched that Esan sons
and daughters, who came home from Europe, America and other parts of the world
for a meeting, were either kidnapped or shot dead.
At about 11am, the governor signed the kidnap bill
into law and urged all those concerned to ensure full implementation. The law
prescribed death penalty for kidnappers.Speaking while signing the law, the
governor said government would do everything within its powers to ensure the
safety of lives and property in the state.
Oshiomhole disagreed with those who argue that
kidnapping is a result of unemployment, saying “no one should try to trivialise
very complex issues”. He said: “We need coordinated
efforts to deal with the problem of crime in Nigeria”, lamenting that the
governor does not have the power to deal with any security officer who
might have misbehaved or through whose negligence the people might have been
exposed to any criminal act.
“At best, we are able to provide
resources and equipment as we have tried to do within our limited resources in
spite of the fact that the language, the letter and the spirit of the
constitution is clear that security matters are federal issues which is why the
federal government continues to have monopoly of the police and of all the
armed forces and the state security services.
None of these comes under the control of
the state government. I am convinced as a matter of fact that the Federal
Government is doing its best to arm and equip the police and the other security
agencies. There are no quick-fix solutions to the issue of crime. Criminals are
not in limited number that you exterminate and go and sleep”, he said.
Sunday Vanguard learnt however that over one
hundred suspected kidnappers have been arrested since the passage of the
law. Meanwhile, fifteen suspected armed robbers and fourteen child
defilers were paraded on Thursday by the Edo Police Commissioner, Mr Foluso
Adebanjo. He said the parade of the 29 suspected criminals amongst whom was a
24 year-old Ifeanyi Nwongi, who allegedly defiled a girl of one year and
eight months, was part of the efforts by the command to wipe criminals out in
the state.
Items recovered from the suspects include five vehicles,
one AK47 rifle, three English pump action guns, three cut to size double barrel
guns, five locally made pistols, 103 AK 47 rifle live ammunition, 505 live
ammunition and other dangerous weapons. Adebanjo explained that 15
suspected kidnappers were arrested in different parts of the state. He said:
“Operatives of the command, on routine patrol/ stop and search, stopped one
Nissan Vannette bus for a routine check, search conducted on the occupants of
the bus led to the recovery of arms and ammunition and arrest of two suspects.
Investigations however revealed that the suspects
are notorious kidnappers who have been terrorising the state and were on a
kidnap mission before they were arrested”.He further narrated that a crack team
of detectives who acted on “credible intelligence” arrested one Osarumwense
Ogbeide and Osahon Uhunamure at Aduwawa for alleged involvement in various
kidnapping cases which occurred in the state, adding: “The suspects who have
been on the command’s wanted list are notorious criminals who took part in the
kidnapping cases reported on the 29/05/2011, 01/02/2012 and 09/02/2012 in the
state.
The arrested suspects who confessed to the crime
led the operatives to Idun-Ehigie community where a 60-year-old man, Raphael
Noruwa, was arrested and cone Jojeff Magnum pump action gun was recovered from
him. As you can see kidnapping has reduced in Edo and it was as a result of the
strategy we adopted which is working”.
Romancing baby
However, 24-year-old Nwonga, who allegedly defiled
the 20 months old baby girl, told Sunday Vanguard: “I held the baby and was
playing with her and had erection and sperm was now released on her body. That
was what happened; it is not as if I defiled her”. However, Nwonga later
confessed that he defiled the child, attributing it to the work of devil. The
mother of the child, who took the matter to the police described the suspect as
a liar. “He is my tenant but I never knew that people could be that wicked. He
defiled this baby and that was why I came to the police”.
- See more at:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/bad-days-ahead-kidnappers-100-face-death-penalty-edo/#sthash.MkgScPtj.dpuf
Oshiomhole
Signs Death Penalty Law For Kidnapping
VIDEO SOURCE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kawFLzOKWb0
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