Osun Assembly proposes death penalty for kidnappers

Osun State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, held a public hearing on the proposed death penalty for kidnappers, as a response to ravaging insecurity in the state.

The parliamentarians unanimously agreed that whoever was found culpable of kidnapping should be sentenced to death, which elicited applause from different groups at the event.

Speaking at the hearing, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye, said the recent killing at Ikoyi-ile, where a final year student of Lagos State University (LASU), Favour Daley-Oladele was killed by his boyfriend, Adeeko Owolabi for alleged money ritual would attract death penalty.

He expressed displeasure over the rising cases of kidnapping saying “Osun has witnessed about 6 cases in 2020 alone but we are eager to nip it in the bud”.

He said: “As parents, we must continue to educate our young ones that there is no shortcut to success. The better way is preparation, hard work and perseverance.”

In his remarks, the state coordinator of Hunter Group of Nigeria, HGN, Mr. Hammed Nureni, urged the Assembly to immediately pass the bill into law, saying kidnappers deserve no mercy.

He stressed that kidnappers were ruthless and mean towards their victims, adding that such individuals should not be treated with leniency.

Also speaking, the Commandant of Vigilante Group of Nigeria, VGN, Osun state chapter, Mr. Bello Aderemi, while endorsing the proposed bill said kidnappers had killed many of their victims out of callousness.

He, however, advised members of the public to willingly give information to security operatives to aid intelligence gathering mechanism.

Meanwhile, the representative of Catholic Church of Nigeria, Paul Kehinde, said the Catholic Church does not support death penalty for any offence, noting that “only God can take human life”.