Edo State Governor Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has signed into law the bill which prescribes death penalty to kidnappers.
The law which is an amendment of the Edo State kidnapping law also prescribes that any premises used by kidnappers will be demolished.
He said “as reluctant as one would want to be in matters of life and death, I am convinced that the overriding public interest now dictates that we invoke the maximum penalty available in our law to all those involved in the act of kidnapping. Anyone sentenced and convicted, I will sign the death warrant.
“But criminals have a choice to abstain from criminality, kidnapping and killing so that they in turn can live and enjoy the good things of life,” he added.
The governor who said the death penalty applies to acts of kidnapping whether it involves murder or not called on youths to desist from the criminality as an excuse for unemployment.
Some suspects were paraded by the Police in Edo State earlier this week and may face the death penalty if found guilty of the crime.
The Governor appealed to parents and guardians to be wary of the activities of their wards as criminality should not be an excuse for unemployment.
And for concern over the slow judicial system in Nigeria the governor said no special tribunals will be set up to try cases of kidnapping as that is a feature of the military era.
He assured the people of Edo State that everything was being done to ensure that security agencies put in place comprehensive network that would ensure effective policing of the security flash points across the state.
“I am convinced that all of us in the three arms of government have a responsibility to make laws and enforce those laws in a way that will send signals to those involved in various acts of criminality, be they kidnappers, murderers, rapists and whoever they may be, that security agencies are now more than ever before, ready to ensure that Edo is too hot for criminals to operate.
“I am aware from reports of those who have been arrested that the overwhelming majority of these criminals are migrant criminals who come from neighbouring states and sometimes from far away states to perpetrate various crimes in Edo state and escaped back to their states across the country,” he said.