22nd July, 2015
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Kidnappers in Rivers State will henceforth lose their properties to the state when convicted under the new anti-kidnapping bill which is set to be passed into law by the House of Assembly.
The House of Assembly is set to empower the state governor, Nyesom Wike, to frontally deal with kidnappers in the state.
Wike had on Wednesday last week sent an executive bill to the House for the amendment of the Rivers State Anti-kidnap and Prohibition Law no. 3 of 2009.
Under the provisions of the bill when passed into law, the state government will seize houses and other property belonging to kidnappers.
Presenting the bill on the floor of the House, the Leader, Mr. Martins Amaewhule, lamented that while the kidnappers wallowed in ill gotten wealth acquired from ransom extorted from their victims.
The amendment seeks to add section 10 to the existing law to empower the governor to apprehend culprits and confiscate their property.
Amaewhule had argued that “ Section 10 should be added to empower the government to take their bank accounts, vehicles, buildings and confiscate them.
“if someone converts his house to kidnappers’ den, we must not waste time but demolish such houses. It is so bad that you can enter a taxi, only to realise that you have entered a ‘one chance’ taxi straight to the kidnappers’ den.”
The House leader recalled the horror he went through in the hands of his abductors for the five days he spent in the hands of his abductors.
“It might interest you to know that as a victim of this ugly act by the kidnappers, I was in the forest for five good days, it was by the grace of God that I am standing here to talk to you today,” Amaewhule said.
Also, a member of the House representing Ogu/Bolo Constituency, Mr. Evans Bibi stated that those who provide support for such crimes should suffer the same fate, saying, “The act (kidnapping) is highly unbearable. Those who engage in it see it as lucrative business.”
Recently, abductions have risen to an all time high in the state causing panic and concerns to residents of the state.