Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday signed the Anti-Kidnapping Law, which prescribes death penalty for kidnappers.He also signed the Lagos State Sports Commission and Lagos State Sports Trust Fund into law.
Speaking shortly after the ceremony at the Lagos House Alausa, Ikeja, Ambode said the prescribed death for kidnappers in whose custody victims died and life jail for those who kidnapped for ransom.
He said the spate of kidnapping had got to a level that required decisive action from government, hence the need for the law to send serious message to perpetrators of such heinous crime.
The government, he said, was putting in place measures particularly in schools and other vulnerable targets, to prevent kidnapping and other security breaches.
The governor said: “Security is of utmost importance to our administration and we are confident that this law will serve as a deterrent to anybody who may desire to engage in this wicked act within the boundaries of Lagos.
“Why we use this law to address the challenge and punish the criminals, we are also putting in place appropriate measures particularly in our schools and other vulnerable targets to prevent security breaches and it is important that we ensure that everything we do in respect of this anti-kidnapping law is in good faith and good spirit to eradicate the issue of kidnapping once and for all in the state.”
The justice system, Ambode said, would be activated to execute the anti-kidnapping law.
He explained that the Sport Commission Law would give legal backing to the formulation and implementation of sport policies; the Sport Trust Fund will enable government to raise funds for the development of sporting facilities and activities.
“This fund will provide a platform where the State Government can enter into partnership with the private sector to finance sports infrastructure, tournaments and programmes which will in turn create employment and generate revenue for the state.”
According to him, as provided for in the law, a Board of trustees, comprising stakeholders in the sports community will be inaugurated for the Trust Fund. With the law, he said the government was restating its commitment to scale up sports development and make the state the hub of sports in Nigeria.
House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa said Ambode’s endorsement of the bills showed the commitment of the state government to security of citizens and sports development.
Obasa, represented by the Majority leader Sanai Agunbiade, said the Anti-Kidnapping Law was all-encompassing prescribes punishment for the actors, the collaborators, the abetters and those who saw the kidnapping being perpetrated and did nothing about it.
The law, he said, was the government’s response to the spate of kidnapping in the state, adding that its expansive provisions would ensure the eradication of the menace.
