By Henry Umoru, ABUJA
The move by the Senate to impose the death penalty for kidnapping by classifying the offence as an act of terrorism has suffered a major setback, as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has kicked against it, warning that capital punishment would not deter kidnapping and could, in fact, worsen Nigeria’s security challenges.
Other stakeholders like ex-NU Envoy Uchenna Emelonye, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Nigerian Financial Unit (NFIU), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), and the DSS, among others, were against it.
They all expressed principled and evidence-based reservations about the proposed expansion of the death penalty, particularly as a response to kidnapping and related violent crimes.
According to the NHRC, before any bill is passed into law by legislative bodies at the Federal or State level, it must first undergo and successfully pass a human rights impact assessment test and Prohibition Act.
“This means that the proposed legislation must improve the general enjoyment of the human rights of Nigerians and must be in tandem with internationally recognised human rights norms and best practices. This is a general examination of the above-referred bill to ensure that it complies with the highest human rights standards.”
The One-Day Public Hearing organised by the Senate Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, chaired by Senator Adeniyi Adegbomire, SAN, APC, Ondo Central, was on ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act to designate kidnapping, hostage taking, and related offences as acts of terrorism to prescribe the death penalty for such offences without option of fine or alternative sentence and for related matters 2025’.
It is a bill to amend the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act as it seeks to designate kidnapping, hostage-taking and related offences as terrorism and to prescribe the death penalty without an option of a fine or alternative sentence.
Fagbemi, who was the first to speak and reject the bill, said that the inclusion of the death penalty risks creating a “martyrdom effect”, especially in cases linked to extremist ideologies, where executions are viewed as validation rather than punishment.
“While we share the National Assembly’s determination to eliminate terrorism and violent crime, we must avoid measures that are emotionally appealing but strategically counterproductive.”
The AGF, who cautioned that the proposal could weaken international cooperation, said that many countries would refuse to extradite suspects facing the death penalty, thereby allowing high-profile suspects to evade justice, adding that Nigeria has long-standing challenges with implementing capital punishment, including governors’ reluctance to sign execution warrants, prison congestion and the danger of radicalisation within correctional facilities.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also faulted the Bill, calling for a mandatory human rights impact assessment for all legislation before passage.
While acknowledging the legislature’s concern over rising kidnappings and violent crimes, the Commission recognised the efforts of the legislature to put an end to escalating tension in the country resulting from violent crimes, mindless killings, kidnappings and religious extremism in Nigeria. It was of the view that the “Bill has serious legal, constitutional, and policy problems based on Nigerian constitutional law and criminal jurisprudence and the principles of justice which are set out here seriatim.”
On its part, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) urged the Senate to adopt a more measured approach, recommending that kidnapping be classified as terrorism only in cases involving organised criminal or terrorist networks or where there is clear intent to intimidate the public or coerce the government.
According to the NBA, the mandatory death penalty should be replaced with discretionary sentencing, including life imprisonment, and graduated penalties that reflect the degree of harm, the offender’s role and the outcome of the offence.
Other organisations, including the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and the Department of State Services (DSS), also raised reservations about the proposed amendment.
In his remarks, former United Nations Human Rights Envoy and Professor of Human Rights Law at Bournemouth University, Professor Uchenna Emelonye, who described the submissions at the hearing as a significant moment in Nigeria’s legislative discourse, said, “Expanding the death penalty will not stop kidnapping.” “What Nigeria urgently needs are institutional reforms, intelligence-led policing, effective prosecutions, improved border security, arms control and victim-centred justice.”
He warned that widening the scope of capital punishment in a criminal justice system prone to investigative gaps increases the risk of wrongful convictions without delivering real security benefits.
Speaking in reaction to the convergence of institutional positions on the subject matter, Professor Emelonye said,
“I welcome the courage and clarity demonstrated today by Nigeria’s key justice and human rights institutions. Their submissions reaffirm what empirical evidence, comparative global experience, and Nigeria’s own history clearly show—that expanding capital punishment will not stop kidnapping. What Nigeria urgently needs are institutional reforms, intelligence-led policing, effective prosecutions, border security, arms control, and victim-centred justice.”
Professor Emelonye has consistently argued that Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis is rooted not in the absence of harsh penalties, but in systemic weaknesses within policing, investigation, prosecution, and criminal justice administration, compounded by the proliferation of small arms, porous borders, poor intelligence coordination, and socio-economic vulnerabilities.
He has further warned that expanding the scope of the death penalty within a criminal justice system marked by investigative gaps and a high risk of wrongful convictions creates an unacceptable risk of irreversible miscarriages of justice, while offering little measurable security benefit.
At the end of the hearing, the Senate committees assured that all submissions would be carefully reviewed and reflected in their report as deliberations on the Bill continue.
The post AGF Fagbemi, NBA, others kick against death penalty for kidnapping appeared first on Vanguard News.
