Death Sentence approved for kidnappers by Bauchi State Government

Mohammed Abdullahi

The Governor of Bauchi state, Mohammed Abdullahi, has put his ink on a bill that will attract a death sentence or life imprisonment for any person found guilty of kidnapping in the state.

Bauchi State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ibrahim Umar, declared this at a press conference in the state, on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

Justice Umar said: “Whoever is guilty of the offence of kidnapping shall be punished with life imprisonment. If the victim dies as a result of the kidnapping, the offender shall be punished with death.”

The bill states that any person who seizes, tricks, confines, abducts or carries away anybody and holds them to ransom or otherwise with or without a weapon, has committed act of kidnapping in the state and would be punished accordingly.

The Justice also said that another bill for provision of free emergency treatment to accident victims within 24hours of incidence in government hospitals, has also been signed into law by the state.

He said: “The law stated that the state government shall provide funds and logistics for joint patrol of the hospital management board and Federal Road Safety Corps for rescuing accident victims in the three senatorial districts of the state.

"Any government hospital that fails to accept an accident victim shall have its officers on duty that day punished according to civil service rules, including reduction in rank.”