11 July 2008
Lagos — Hard times await armed robbers as House of Representatives yesterday, overwhelmingly rejected a bill seeking a committal of death sentence for armed robbery to life imprisonment.
The lawmakers submitted that armed robbers must pay the supreme price for taking to crimes.
Speaking one after the other on the bill which was sponsored by Hon. Friday Itulah, the legislators who pegged the maximum jail term for attempted robbery said hat only death sentence can deter people from going into crime.
By the development yesterday, the bill has been stopped from scaling second reading. The bill was passionately debated on the floor with members of the Amnesty International fully present as observers.
On the other hand, a bill mandating the immediate and compulsory treatment and care for victims with bullet wounds successfully passed through a second reading.
The first bill was titled: 'A bill for an act to amend the robbery and firearms (Special provisions) Cap. R11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and for other matters connected therewith, 2008.
Hon. Itulah, who sponsored the bill had contended that the bill was to remove the words "sentenced to death" from the Act and replaced it with the words "sentenced to life imprisonment." He submitted that Section 1 and Sub 2 of the principal Act states that anybody that commits such an offence shall either be executed by firing squad or hung by the neck till dead.
"What we seek is that nobody shall kill anybody for whatever reason in spite of the confession to the crime," Itulah said. To this, there was a vociferous shout of "no" from majority of the other members.
The lawmaker observed that sometimes when suspect were apprehended, they were silently eliminated. He said that in the process, innocent victims were often erroneously executed and that it was better to set 10 guilty people free than convict an innocent person. He said that killing cannot be said to be reformatory maintaining that only who are alive can be reformed. "What we are doing is treating the symptoms instead of the disease," he said.
While opposing the bill Hon. Sada Sole described abolishing capital punishment for armed robbery is a serious business. "Life is a fundamental human right, and taking it away as a fundamental violation. The law should take its course. Whoever takes a person's life does not deserve to keep his own," he said.
Hon. Emmanuel Jimeh in his submission said that though he understood that the mood in the House was against the bill, he would want the members to be consumed by emotion. "The problem I see is the finality of death, God forbids that there is an error in the process. I support that it's better to free 10 guilty persons than kill one innocent person."
For Cyril Maduabum, the Robbery and Firearms Act is a State law and not a Federal Law hence it was inappropriate for the House to continue its debate on it.
"Murder is state issue, that is why the Governors sign the death warrant. Yar'Adua cannot sign a death warrant." He reminded that the Supreme Court has made this clear in several cases including Cele vs State in 1993, that armed robbery is a state crime.
"Even in the US , some have death sentences and others don't depending on the sensitivity of the State involved."
Hon. Tsengu Tsegba said that the bill was long overdue. He however introduced a new dimension into the debate when he said that he would support the amendment to the Act on the grounds that Militancy as in the Niger-Delta which according to him constitutes murder and treason; and drug trafficking, the rape of infants from 1 to 3 years old for rituals, should on the other hand carry the death sentence.
Hon. Samson Osagay in his own contribution said that sentiments have been woven into the debate of the bill. "When we look at issue dispassionately, Nigeria is setting the tone for the abolition of the death penalty." He said the death penalty was not a deterrent to the crime of armed robbery. He said the society would lose nothing by jettisoning the death penalty. He asked: "If someone commits a crime for which its death penalty, must society also become a murderer?"
To this question, majority of the Representatives shouted: "Yes!"
On the other hand the bill for an Act to prescribe for the compulsory and immediate treatment and care for the victims of bullet wounds sailed through second reading and was referred to the joint committees on Justice and Health. Hon. Mayor Eze, who was the sponsor of the bill noted that victims of bullet wounds were usually not treated. He said that this was neither the position of the Constitution or the practice around the world.
According to him, the refusal of hospitals to treat gunshot wounds resulted from a police directive which was made in good faith. He however noted that the directive affects more innocent victims than robbers as the robbers make specialized arrangement for the treatments of their bullet wounds.
"Doctors and nurses are not happy that they are not saving lives," he said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
