A former member of the National Assembly, Mr Ehiogie West-Idahosa, on Saturday lauded Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo, for making kidnapping a capital offence in the state.
West-Idahosa, who represented Ovia North-East and South-West Constituency in the House of Representatives, said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
NAN reports that Oshiomhole had on Oct.18 signed the law making kidnapping in the state punishable by death.
``I am convinced that death penalty for kidnappers will definitely send the signal that the state is not ready to accept criminality,’’ West-Idahosa said.
He, however, said the law would only be successful if it was properly implemented by the appropriate security agencies.
In its reaction, a human rights group, the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), opposed the law, saying it would not deter kidnapping in the state.
Mr Chino Obiagwu, National Coordinator of the group told NAN that the government should rather concentrate on improving the capacity and efficiency of the police to fight crime.
Obiagwu said: ``Making it a capital offence cannot stop kidnapping because the severity of punishment is not a deterrent to crime.
``Death penalty does not solve anything. As a matter of fact, a lot of innocent people will be killed because of poor investigations.’’
On his part, a human rights activist, Mr Fred Agbaje, said the spate of kidnapping in Edo was worrisome, but added that punitive laws would not solve the problem.
``It is not just a question of having punitive laws that will solve the problem of kidnapping in the state.
``Who have they arrested that they want to use as an example that the death sentence has come to stay?
``Passing the law is one thing, whether they will work to effect it, is another,’’ Agbaje said.
He said there was a criminal alliance between kidnappers in Edo and Delta which must be crushed by security agencies in the two states.
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