Senate bans ransom payment to kidnappers in amendment to Terrorism Act
The Senate has passed the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2013 bill prohibiting ransom payment to kidnappers in Nigeria.
The passage followed the adoption of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters report at plenary on Wednesday.
Presenting the report, the chairman of the committee, Opeyemi Bamidele, said the bill sought to outlaw ransom payment to abductors, kidnappers, and terrorists to release persons who had either been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped.
The lawmaker said the overall import of the bill is to discourage the rising spate of kidnapping and abduction for ransom cases in Nigeria, fast spreading across the country.
Mr Bamidele assured that the amendment bill would set standards and a regulatory system intended to prevent terrorist groups from laundering money through banking and other financial networks.
He added that having policies in place to combat the financing of terrorism would either reduce or eliminate privacy and anonymity in financial and other sundry transactions related to the subject in society.
The lawmaker seat said further that the need to comprehensively review the Terrorism Prevention Act arose from the unfavourable ratings of Financial Act Task Force (FATF) recommendations of Nigeria’s Mutual Evaluation Report.
In his remarks, Senate President Ahmad Lawan said that the bill would complement the federal government’s efforts to fight against insecurity when signed into law by the President.
“This is one piece of legislation that can turn around not only the security situation in Nigeria, but even the economic fortunes of our country,” Mr Lawan said.
The Senate, thereafter, adjourned the plenary until May 10 for the Sallah break.
(NAN)
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