Cultists to bag 21-years jail term in Lagos new anti-cultism law
Governor of Lagos Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved 21 years jail term for convicted cultist as he signed the state’s anti-cultism bill into law on Monday.
The bill for the Prohibition of Unlawful Societies and Cultism of 2021 also stipulates a 15 years jail term for anyone found guilty of abetting cultist.
A statement made available on the official Facebook page of Lagos State Government detailed that the governor assented to the bill at the swearing in the ceremony of two new Permanent Secretaries at the State Secretariat, Alausa, on Monday.
While assenting to the bill, Mr. Sanwo-olu stated that Lagos had suffered negative effects of unlawful societies and cultism.
He added that the new law will make parents more responsible and show interest in the upbringing of their children.
The bill, while at the State Assembly, sparked a legal debate on the rationale behind punishing parents for their children’s crimes.
Legal practitioners faulted the bill, unanimously stating that it was wrong to punish one for the crime of another.
However, the State Assembly in February passed the anti cultism bill amidst the criticism, proposing a 15 years jail term for residents that willfully allow their property to be used by the cultist as a meeting point.
The anti-cultism law repeals the Cultism (Prohibition) Law of 2007 (now Cap. C18, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015).
The new law is applicable to the general public, as against the restriction of the previous law to students of tertiary institutions.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Diaspora
Nigeria, Ghana have highest number of African inmates in U.S. federal prisons: Document
Nigeria’s 283 inmates constitute 30.8 per cent of the 914 Africans serving various jail terms in U.S. federal prisons, far away from their continent.
States
Kidnapping for Ransom: Troops rescue four hostages in Katsina
Troops of the Nigerian Army, 17 Brigade Strike Group/Quick Response Force, rescued four kidnap victims in Fafu along the Matazu-Musawa axis of Katsina.
World
Russian drone attack kills one, injures seven in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya
A Russian attack on the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya killed at least one person and wounded seven others, Ukrainian authorities said.
Health
African leaders urged to end debt injustice, use resources for youth’s social protection
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has urged African leaders to end debt injustice and redirect resources to youth health, education, and social protection.
Heading 4
U.S. unveils $1 billion humanitarian funding for UNICEF, WFP
The U.S. announced it will provide over $1 billion in funding to UNICEF and the WFP as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to address global humanitarian crises.
Economy
G7 leaders to discuss global economic recovery
G7 leaders will discuss ways to support sustainable economic growth on Wednesday (today) as they grapple with the strain the war in Iran is placing on the global economy.
