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| Governor Nyesom Wike |
THE Rivers State House of Assembly is set to empower the State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, to deal decisively with kidnappers in the state.The executive had on Wednesday sent a bill to the House for the amendment of the Rivers State Anti-kidnap and Prohibition Law no. 3 of 2009.
If the bill is 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 thrived in affluence from ransom collected, the victims suffer agony and psychological torture.
The amendment seeks to add section 10 to the existing law to empower the governor to apprehend culprits and confiscate their property.
“Mr Speaker, we will need to empower the executive to deal with them. If we empower the government to do so, those who are in the business would know that its no longer business as usual.
“So, 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 how he spent five days 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.”
“The business, when it started, victims pay as much as N20m, then it reduced to N10m, and then to N5m and to N500,000 and now N200, 000.”
