The Senate on Thursday passed a bill seeking to prescribe death penalty for persons found guilty of trading or consuming hard drugs and narcotics.
The bill titled “National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act (Amendment Bill) 2024” was passed after majority of the senators supported it at the Committee of the Whole.
The bill amended Section 11 of the NDLEA Act prescribing that any person who, without lawful authority; Imports, manufactures, produces, processes, plants or grows the drugs popularly known as cocaine, heroin or any other similar drugs shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life.
The section was amended to include death penalty as punishment for anybody found guilty of the offences.
The bill also sought to update the list of dangerous drugs, strengthen the operations of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and empower the NDLEA to establish laboratories.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), presented a report of the committee before it was referred to the Committee of the Whole where it was considered.
Though the report did not recommend a death penalty. It was proposed by Ali Ndume (APC , Borno South) when the lawmakers were debating the report.
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Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) opposed the death penalty for trading or consuming hard drugs.
Mr Oshiomhole said the death penalty should not be hurriedly considered, but the deputy senate president, who presided over the session, ruled him out of order.
Majority of the senators voted in support of the bill, when the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, put it to vote for the third reading.
However, some of the senators were heard chorusing “nay” apparently to indicate their rejection of death sentence as a penalty.
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