The Senate yesterday passed a bill which prescribed the death penalty on any person found guilty of trading or producing hard drugs and narcotics.
The bill, entled, ‘National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act (Amendment Bill) 2024’, was sponsored by the Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume.
The proposed legislation was processed by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.
The report of the panel was presented at plenary by its chairman, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North).
The bill amended Section 11 of the NDLEA Act prescribing that any person who, without lawful authority; Imports, manufactures, produces, processes, plants or grows the drugs popularly known as cocaine, heroin or any other similar drugs, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life.
The section was amended to “death penalty” as punishment for anybody found guilty of the offences.
The bill also sought to update the list of dangerous drugs, strengthen the operations of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and empower the NDLEA to establish laboratories.
Majority of the senators voted in support of the bill, when the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, put it to vote for third reading.
There was a mild drama when the Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), opposed the death penalty for trading or consuming hard drugs.
Oshiomhole said the death penalty should not be hurriedly considered, but the Deputy Senate President ruled him out of order.
Speaking to journalists after the Bill was passed, Munguno said the death sentence was for people who engage in the manufacturing, processing and trading of hard drugs.
He said, “For the people that engage in the consumption of these hard drugs, the sentence prescribed is 15 years.
“I think the Senate in its wisdom decided to prescribe death sentences in view of the havoc being created by substance and drug abuse in this country.
“The situation, if not nipped in the bud, has the potential of destroying the future of this country.
“This is because it is the majority of the youth that are engaged in drug and substance abuse.
“Sometimes, innocently as a result of peer group influence. The sentence is 15 years without the option of fine for the consumers.’’
Kaduna to relocate 359 schools over kidnapping, banditry.
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has declared that no fewer than 359 schools would soon be relocated across the state.
The governor disclosed this on Wednesday while expressing his distress regarding the decrease in student enrolment in schools throughout the state.
Governor Sani attributed the decline to the rise in insecurity caused by incidents of kidnapping, banditry, and other criminal activities in the state.
To address the situation, the governor revealed that his administration has initiated plans to relocate 359 schools from areas affected by terrorism and integrate them with other schools in safer locations.
Governor Sani made these remarks on Wednesday at the opening of a one-day capacity-building programme organised by the Nigeria Police Force School Protection Squad in Kaduna.
Sani described as apt the theme of the programme: ‘Strengthening Security Resilience and Integration of Host Communities in the Protection of Education.’
“Incidents like the kidnapping of 135 students from the LEA Primary and Junior Secondary School, Kuriga, Chikun Local Government tragically illustrate the devastating impact of insecurity on education access and safety.
“To ensure that the education of our children in conflict-prone and terrorists-infested areas is not interrupted, we have commenced the merging of 359 schools with those in safe locations,” the governor said.
Sani added: “Kaduna State is one of the states that has been waging a sustained battle against banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other forms of criminality.
“These non-state actors have disrupted socio-economic activities in the affected communities and are threatening our educational revitalisation programme.
“Kaduna State’s educational system is facing a crisis of declining enrolment, with over 200,000 fewer primary school pupils recorded in the 2022/2023 academic session, compared to the previous year.
“This dramatic drop (from 2,111,969 in 2021/2022 to 1,734,704 in 2022/2023) is largely attributed to insecurity.
“In several local government areas, particularly Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Kajuru, Giwa, and Igabi, insecurity has forced school consolidation, further pushing up the number of out-of-school children.”
The Kaduna State governor commended the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, for establishing the Schools Protection Squad, a proactive initiative aimed at enhancing security and safety in educational institutions across Nigeria.
