A former United Nations Human Rights envoy, Prof. Uchenna Emelonye, has urged the Senate to drop proposals seeking to introduce the death penalty for kidnapping in Nigeria, Peak Newspaper reports.
Emelonye, a lawyer and criminal justice expert, made the call on Tuesday during an online press briefing, where he addressed an open letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and members of the National Assembly.
While condemning kidnapping in strong terms, the former UN envoy warned that imposing capital punishment would not curb the crime and could divert attention from reforms that would genuinely improve public safety.
According to him, evidence from Nigeria and other countries shows that harsher penalties do not deter crime where enforcement mechanisms remain weak.
“Kidnapping thrives not because penalties are insufficient, but due to poor detection, weak intelligence, low arrest rates, and fragile institutions,” Emelonye said.
He noted that he has spent over two decades advising governments on counter-terrorism, criminal justice reform and public safety, stressing that effective prevention, not symbolic punishment, is the solution.
Emelonye also shared a personal experience, revealing that his elder brother was once abducted after his police orderly was shot, describing the trauma faced by families of victims.
He warned that attempts to amend the Terrorism Act to include kidnapping failed to address the real issues, pointing out that Nigeria already has multiple federal and state laws prescribing severe penalties for the offence.
“At least 14 states, including Lagos, Rivers, Oyo, Ogun and Anambra, have anti-kidnapping laws that impose the death penalty in aggravated cases. The persistence of the crime shows that enforcement, not legislation, is the main challenge,” he said.
The professor further argued that kidnapping is constitutionally a state offence and that federalising it through the Terrorism Act could disrupt state prosecution systems, overburden the Federal High Court and lead to constitutional disputes.
He added that Nigeria’s history with capital punishment for crimes such as armed robbery and murder had not reduced violence, noting that about 3,504 inmates are currently on death row, with fewer than 15 executions carried out in nearly two decades.
Emelonye called on lawmakers to focus on strengthening law enforcement capacity, intelligence gathering and the justice system rather than expanding the scope of the death penalty.
