Key justice and human rights stakeholders on Thursday opposed a Senate proposal seeking to prescribe the death penalty for kidnapping under a proposed amendment to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, warning that capital punishment would neither deter crime nor strengthen national security.
The opposition was voiced at a one-day public hearing organised by the Senate Joint Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, National Security and Intelligence, and Interior. The Bill seeks to classify kidnapping, hostage-taking, and related offences as acts of terrorism and to impose the death penalty without an option of fine or alternative sentence.
Raising concerns over the proposal were the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Nigerian Bar Association, the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, the Federation of Women Lawyers, the Department of State Services, and other stakeholders.
Fagbemi urged lawmakers to remove the death penalty clause, noting that while the executive shares the legislature’s resolve to combat terrorism and violent crime, the proposed punishment could be counterproductive. He warned that capital punishment may fuel what he described as a “martyrdom trap,” arguing that state-sanctioned executions could validate extremist narratives, boost recruitment, and provoke retaliatory violence.
The Attorney-General also cautioned that the death penalty could undermine international cooperation, as many countries may refuse to extradite suspects facing execution, potentially creating safe havens for terror masterminds abroad. He further pointed to Nigeria’s long-standing reluctance to carry out executions, which has resulted in a de facto moratorium, contributing to prison overcrowding and heightening the risk of radicalisation within correctional facilities.
Emphasising that punishment severity alone does not deter crime, Fagbemi said the focus should be on certainty of arrest and conviction, recommending life imprisonment without parole as a more effective alternative.
The NHRC called for mandatory human rights impact assessments for all proposed legislation, stating that although the Bill was well-intentioned, it raised serious legal, constitutional, and policy issues. The Commission warned that expanding capital punishment in a system with investigative gaps increases the risk of irreversible miscarriages of justice and must be aligned with international human rights standards and constitutional safeguards.
The NBA advised the Senate to adopt a graduated and discretionary sentencing framework, recommending that kidnapping be classified as terrorism only in cases involving organised criminal or terrorist networks or clear intent to intimidate the public or coerce government. It urged lawmakers to replace the mandatory death penalty with discretionary sentencing options, including life imprisonment or death only in aggravated cases, while also clearly defining intent, liability, and available defences and harmonising the Bill with existing state kidnapping laws.
During deliberations, Senator Ekong Sampson supported a graduated approach to offences and penalties, stressing the need for sanctions to reflect degrees of harm, the roles of offenders, and the outcomes of crimes.
Former United Nations human rights envoy and Professor of Human Rights Law at Bournemouth University, Prof. Uchenna Emelonye, welcomed what he described as a rare consensus among Nigeria’s leading legal institutions against capital punishment for kidnapping. He said empirical evidence and global experience show that expanding the death penalty does not curb kidnapping, urging institutional reforms, intelligence-led policing, effective prosecutions, border security, arms control, and victim-centred justice instead.
He warned that widening the scope of capital punishment within a fragile criminal justice system risks wrongful convictions without delivering measurable security gains and called on the Senate to redirect legislative efforts towards strengthening policing, intelligence coordination, and prosecution of kidnapping cases.
The joint committees said all submissions would inform their report as the Senate continues consideration of the proposed amendment.
