Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has described as
stupid, a Senate bill that seeks to prohibit the payment and receipt of ransom
for the release of any person kidnapped, imprisoned or wrongfully confined.
Falana, who spoke on with PUNCH on Friday, said the National
Assembly should rather focus on ensuring they make laws that guarantee adequate
security for every Nigerian.
He said the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2021,
which scaled second reading during plenary on Wednesday, is the most jejune
bill and it will fail.
According to the bill, Nigerians who pay ransom to
kidnappers and kidnappers who receive ransom risk 15 years imprisonment.
Reacting, Falana said all National Assembly members will pay
ransom if any of them was kidnapped, adding that ordinary Nigerians paying
ransom are pushed by the irresponsibility and the failure of the government to
secure lives and properties.
He said, “The bill is the most jejune bill that has ever
been entertained by the National Assembly since 1999. It is so irrelevant.
“These guys
(lawmakers) are just pretending to be addressing problems but for me, this is
like scratching a problem on the surface.
“Why are people paying ransom? Is it not because of the
failure of the state to rescue people who are kidnapped? Hasn’t the Federal
Government paid millions of dollars to rescue some of those abducted in Borno
State? The government paid heavy ransom to rescue some of the Dapchi girls that
were kidnapped. So, there can be no arrogance or grandstanding on the payment
of ransom by hapless Nigerians.
“Member of the National Assembly have paid ransom when their
loved ones were kidnapped and even today, if any of the relation or a member of
the National Assembly is kidnapped, members will contribute to rescue him or
her.
“So, why are these guys not addressing the problem? Why are
they not talking of appropriating funds for the purchase and installation of
CCTV cameras in our cities, towns and villages? Why are they not talking of
appropriating money to acquire tracking devices, and drones? Why are they not
talking of motivating our security forces to stop the crime? Why are they not
talking of social security for jobless Nigerians?”
“The bill will fail because it is not well-intentioned.
Nobody will want to part with money if you have a functional government,”
Falana submitted.
Kidnapping is fast becoming a lucrative ‘enterprise’ in
Nigeria as the West African nation’s security situation worsens. Hundreds of
Nigerians, mostly the vulnerable – children and women – have fallen victims of
kidnappers in recent times and their families have had to part with millions of
naira to secure their release after days or even weeks of excruciating pains
and agony. Some families have not been so lucky, however, as the daredevil
kidnappers kill their victims even after receiving ransom.
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