OVER one hundred suspected
kidnappers face the death
sentence in Edo State following
the signing into law of the
state kidnapping law by
Governor Adams Oshiomhole.
Kidnapping in the state
became worrisome after
hoodlums descended on the
state to a level that even
teachers were being kidnapped
for ransom. Lagos lawyer,
Chief Mike Ozekhome, a Benin
High Court Judge, Justice
Daniel Okungbowa, a chieftain
of the APC, Athanacious
Ugbome, were among those
who suffered from the
kidnappers onslaught along
the Auchi-Abuja road, in Edo
State.
It was later learnt that most of
the evil perpetrated along that
road was executed by a gang
led by a kidnap kingpin, Kelvin
Oniarah Eziegbe, who is
currently facing trial in Abuja.
Ordinarily, Oshiomhole believes
very strongly in the sanctity of
life but on 18 October, shortly
after one of the bloody kidnap
operations, the governor had
no choice than to exercise his
constitutional powers as
governor, by signing into law
the Kidnap Prohibition Law as
amended by the state House of
Assembly.
On that fateful day,
Oshiomhole was in his office
attending to state issues, when
the news filtered in that those
attending Esan Professionals
Conference, scheduled for
Uromi, were kidnapped while
one was killed almost at the
spot where Ozekhome was
kidnapped. Sunday Vanguard
learnt that the suspected
kidnappers, who reportedly
wore police uniforms with
bullet proof vests, stopped the
victims and informed them that
they were under arrest. They
were said to have ordered Mrs
Ekhomu and her children to a
vehicle while the chief
executive officer of Thomas
White Plc. Mr. Emmanuel
Obiyan, and Dr Ekhomu, a
security expert, were pushed to
another vehicle.
The kidnappers headed
towards Sapele. Sunday
Vanguard learnt however that
on realizing that their captors
were kidnappers and not
policemen after he inquired
about the police station they
were being taken to, Dr
Ekhomu held one of the
kidnappers with a gun and
there was a fight. In the
process, Dr. Ekhomu suffered a
gunshot on his hand but he
managed to escape through
the bush.
*Suspected kidnappers
*Suspected kidnappers
Apparently angered by the
Ekhomu resistance, the
kidnappers rained bullets on
Obiyan and abandoned his
body. The gang that held Mrs.
Ekhomu and her children ran
into trouble when men of the
Joint Task Force (JTF) in the
Niger Delta intercepted them
around Sapele and rescued
them. The body of Obiyan was
deposited at the Irrua
Specialist Hospital. The sad
incident occurred on Thursday,
17 October.
Oshiomhole, visibly angry,
came to office at about
7:30am the following day, and
called for the amended kidnap
law file. While this was going
on, appeal came to the state
government to flood the Auchi-
Abuja road with soldiers.
Oshiomhole was particularly
touched that Esan sons and
daughters, who came home
from Europe, America and
other parts of the world for a
meeting, were either kidnapped
or shot dead.
At about 11am, the governor
signed the kidnap bill into law
and urged all those concerned
to ensure full implementation.
The law prescribed death
penalty for
kidnappers.Speaking while
signing the law, the governor
said government would do
everything within its powers to
ensure the safety of lives and
property in the state.
Oshiomhole disagreed with
those who argue that
kidnapping is a result of
unemployment, saying “no one
should try to trivialise very
complex issues”. He said: “We
need coordinated efforts to
deal with the problem of crime
in Nigeria”, lamenting that the
governor does not have the
power to deal with any
security officer who might have
misbehaved or through whose
negligence the people might
have been exposed to any
criminal act.
“At best, we are able to provide
resources and equipment as
we have tried to do within our
limited resources in spite of the
fact that the language, the
letter and the spirit of the
constitution is clear that
security matters are federal
issues which is why the federal
government continues to have
monopoly of the police and of
all the armed forces and the
state security services.
None of these comes under the
control of the state
government. I am convinced
as a matter of fact that the
Federal Government is doing
its best to arm and equip the
police and the other security
agencies. There are no quick-
fix solutions to the issue of
crime. Criminals are not in
limited number that you
exterminate and go and sleep”,
he said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment