The Senate on Thursday introduced a bill seeking sweeping amendments to Nigeria’s terrorism law, one day after lawmakers issued fresh demands for tougher action against the country’s escalating insecurity.
The proposed amendment to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, sponsored by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), sailed through first reading without objection.
Under the bill, all forms of kidnapping would be legally classified as acts of terrorism, attracting a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
The proposal also expands the definition of terrorism to cover every instance of abduction, regardless of whether the victim is released unharmed.
Recall that the development followed a heated debate during Wednesday’s plenary, where lawmakers warned that the surge in kidnappings had reached intolerable levels.
Several senators argued that only the harshest possible penalty could deter criminal gangs responsible for the attacks.
Presiding over the session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio urged Bamidele to bring the amendment “as soon as practicable,” insisting that Parliament must respond decisively.
“A very serious amendment has been proposed that the penalty for kidnapping be changed immediately to carry the maximum punishment of death.
“Henceforth, kidnapping should first be classified as a terrorist act, which should attract the death penalty. Once the offence is established, a death sentence must follow. There is no discretion,” he said.
Bamidele tabled the bill the following day in line with the directive.
The legislation now awaits second reading, where senators are expected to debate its merits before it progresses to committee stage.
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