The Nigeria Senate has approved death penalty for dealers and importers of any kind of hard drugs into the country.
The proposed capital punishment also applies to manufacturing, trafficking, dealing in or delivery of the product by any means.
The development is coming on Thursday, following the Senate’s consideration of a report of the Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, drugs and Narcotics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
During the consideration of the report on the bill for passage today, Senate Whip, Ali Ndume, recommended that the punishment of life imprisonment be toughened to death penalty.
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He said: “This (life imprisonment) should be changed to a death sentence. This is the standard worldwide. We have to do this to address this problem of drugs that has seriously affected our youths.
“It should be toughened beyond life imprisonment. It should be the death sentence, either by hanging or any way.”
Similarly, Senator Sampson Ekong from Akwa Ibom State also kicked against the resolution of the Senate but he was overruled.
The Senate went ahead to pass the bill for a third reading.
