Edo Assembly approves death sentence for kidnapping

In a bid to curb the rising cases of kidnapping in Edo State, the State House of Assembly has passed the Edo State Kidnapping Prohibition Law, 2025, prescribing the death penalty for offenders. The bill was passed during plenary after a clause-by-clause consideration. The Majority Leader, Charity Aiguobarueghian, moved the motion for the House to […]

In a bid to curb the rising cases of kidnapping in Edo State, the State House of Assembly has passed the Edo State Kidnapping Prohibition Law, 2025, prescribing the death penalty for offenders.

The bill was passed during plenary after a clause-by-clause consideration. The Majority Leader, Charity Aiguobarueghian, moved the motion for the House to go into the Committee of the Whole to deliberate on the bill, which was seconded by Minority Leader Henry Okaka (Owan East).

Previously, the Edo State Kidnapping Prohibition Law, 2013 prescribed life imprisonment for convicted kidnappers and the confiscation of any property used in the act.

However, lawmakers voted to amend the law, increasing the penalty to a death sentence while retaining the property confiscation clause.

• PDP scribe: Supreme Court slates March 10 for hearing
• Uba Sani Reinstates Fifth Chukker’s Land Titles

Speaker of the House, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku, directed the Clerk of the House to forward a clean copy of the bill to Governor Godwin Obaseki for assent.

In a related development, the House also passed a bill to repeal the Edo State Electricity Law, 2022, replacing it with a law to establish the Edo State Electricity Market, the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission, and the Edo Electrification Agency.