Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomohole, on Friday, signed the Kidnapping Prohibition Act 2009 as amended by the State House of Assembly, into law. Speaking to journalists in Benin City after the signing, Oshiomhole said that the amended law now prescribed death penalty for kidnappers as well as those who aid and abet them.
The governor said that though there were enough laws that served as punitive measures for various criminal offences, the challenge being faced by such laws was enforcement.
"This law is signed in good faith; the government has the will to implement it in totality.
No special task-force or tribunal will be constituted to try defaulters because we are determined to make this state too hot for them to operate," Oshiomhole said. "This administration has taken necessary steps to effectively police all the security flash points in the state as we have discovered that the major criminals were migrants who visit the state and escape after committing crimes."
He reiterated government's concern about the spate of kidnapping in the state, saying they were aware of the pain kidnappers had inflicted on their victims and families.
Oshiomhole pointed out that hundreds of criminals had been arrested in the state and were awaiting trial.
"It is in the overriding public interest of the public that the amended bill is signed into law and, by so doing, all hands must be on deck to fight crime and criminality in this state," he said. "We have, as a government, provided within the limit of our resources, the enabling environment and logistics for the operation of the security agencies."
The governor urged the youths to stay away from crime as it was not an alternative to legitimate means of survival.
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