The Senate has okayed death penalty for drug offenders caught dealing in cocaine, heroin and other hard recreational drugs.
The approval made during Thursday’s plenary was however not unanimous with former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, one of the dissenting voices saying, “When a matter has to do with life and death, we should be accountable. Let’s divide the Senate. This is lawmaking. We are not here to take voice votes.”
In spite of the opposition from several quarters in the Red chamber, the proposed capital punishment which applies to manufacturing, trafficking, dealing in or delivery of hard drugs by any means sailed through.
The resolution followed deliberations on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which maximum punishment in the extant law for offenders is life imprisonment.
“This (life imprisonment) should be changed to a death sentence. This is the standard worldwide. We have to do this to address this problem of drugs that has seriously affected our youths.
“It should be toughened beyond life imprisonment. It should be the death sentence, either by hanging or any way,” Senate Whip, Ali Ndume said while making a case for the decision.
